In Chile, the Minister of Public Works and Communications, engineer Deligne Ascención, and his counterpart from the South American country, Jéssica López; signed an agreement through which both countries will exchange experiences related to infrastructure and the management of the seismic code.
A press release from the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) says the agreement will allow technicians from the Dominican Republic to train in the South American country, "and thus introduce techniques and regulations required in the seismic codes of this nation.".
Ascención said that the training of professionals will be done in the interest of applying it in the Dominican Republic and taking precise measures in the face of telluric phenomena.
He highlighted that Chile is one of the countries in the world with the most experience and best practices in the management of the anti-seismic code.
He added that, because the Dominican Republic is located in an area of significant seismic activity, and because the country could be affected at any time by the effects of a major earthquake, "it is necessary to take precautions to protect lives and property.".
In that regard, he emphasized the significant investment in road infrastructure and buildings by the public and private sectors in the country over the years.
“That is why it is so important to be able to assimilate the practices and behaviors of countries that have already taken steps forward in this area, and to be able to incorporate them into our professional and institutional work,” he said.
For his part, Ambassador Fausto Liz said he was pleased with the minister's visit and emphasized the commitment to the Dominican Republic, "essentially to protect it, to carry out a seismic homologation process, so that the infrastructure can withstand at least earthquakes of 7.5 or 8 degrees of magnitude, which is what Chilean seismic systems can withstand.".
Liz announced that tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26, the president of the Chilean Seismic Association will travel to Santo Domingo to give a lecture at the congress that will be held by the Dominican Municipal League.
The Minister of Public Works was accompanied to Chile by engineers Onéximo González, advisor, and Néstor Matos, director of the Department of Regulations, Standards and Systems of the MOPC.
