The official referred to the complaint from construction unions, who are projecting increases in housing prices, resulting from the 20% increase made by the Ministry of Labor to construction workers
SANTO DOMINGO. – The Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (Mivhed) approved 1,269 construction permits between January and August 2026, compared to 663 processed in the same period of 2025, a difference that Minister Jean Luis Rodríguez described as an almost exact doubling of the approval rate.
In his participation in the Presidency's Weekly Agenda on August 31, 2026, the Minister highlighted the most significant figure, however, in the amount represented by these permits. Authorized investment increased from RD$166.977 billion in the first eight months of 2025 to RD$460 billion in the same period of 2026, a jump that, according to the official, coincides with the Central Bank's figures on the growth of the construction sector.
More than one reason for the increase in housing prices
The conversation turned to the cost of housing after a recent announcement by Acoprovi (Association of Housing Builders and Promoters) was raised, which projected a 6% increase in the price of housing resulting from the salary increase made by the Government to construction workers.
Rodríguez responded that the final cost depends not only on the salary, but also on the land and materials, and that the bonds granted by the State seek to keep these projects viable for the private developers participating in the housing programs.
Regarding the Happy Family low-cost housing program, the minister explained that the initial state subsidy was around RD$300,000 per unit and today it is approaching one million pesos. He acknowledged the complaints about the bureaucracy of the process, which he attributed to the gap between the volume of applications and the limited supply of units, and said that his team is working to expedite responses.
He also insisted that no society develops with cheap labor but with greater productivity, and stated that the ministry is collaborating with Acoprovi on the modernization of the sector.
The government is building hospitals, prisons, and roads with an eye toward 2028
Beyond housing, the Mivhed operates as the construction arm for a wide range of state works, as described by its minister, Jean Luis Rodríguez, who detailed projects ranging from university campuses to prisons, hospitals and judicial cities.
He highlighted the decentralization of the university centers of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), a historical demand of different provinces that, he said, was realized for the first time during this government: six have already been inaugurated, in Baní, Azua, Santiago Rodríguez, Neiba, Hato Mayor and Cotuí, while the one in Santo Domingo East is progressing well and will be delivered next year.
In health, the ministry reports 13 hospitals and 11 primary care diagnostic centers built during this administration, with a combined capacity of approximately 1,300 beds.
Among the new construction projects, separate from the renovations being carried out by the National Health Service, Santos cited the network of trauma hospitals: the one in Higüey, in La Altagracia province, already inaugurated; those in Villa Vásquez and Valverde, under construction; and the one in San Cristóbal, which the government plans to inaugurate on November 6, coinciding with Constitution Day. He also mentioned that the municipal hospital in Nisibón is 90% complete, with delivery scheduled for next month.
Regarding the prison system, he spoke of a modernization plan with eight projects under construction, three of which have already begun. He cited the prison in Elías Piña, whose second phase is expected to be completed before the end of the year, and the Anamuya prison in Higüey, which is 97% complete and will be the first built under the new model. According to the minister, the latter was particularly valued because it will allow women incarcerated in that province to no longer be transferred to other regions of the country.
Among other projects attributed to the ministry, he mentioned the Higher Police Education Institute, intended to strengthen the training of the National Police; the Judicial City of Santo Domingo East, already delivered after being inherited with only 30% progress, and that of Santo Domingo West, whose completion he estimated for the end of the year; as well as the sports facilities built for the Central American and Caribbean Games in the Olympic Center and the East Park, including the volleyball, taekwondo and handball pavilions, and the aquatic center, with the tennis court of the Olympic Center as a pending project.
Public Works cites road plans
Regarding road infrastructure, the Minister of Public Works and Communications, Eduardo Estrella, detailed the progress of the Amber Highway, a 32-kilometer road between Santiago and Puerto Plata, which will reduce travel time between the two cities to between 30 and 45 minutes, compared to the current hour and fifteen minutes. The project, which includes several tunnels, already has a contractor and funding allocated; Estrella estimated that environmental permits will be completed in about two months.
In the southwest, he cited two roads intended to diversify access to Pedernales: the one connecting Cabral with Enriquillo, which is 80% complete and only the section towards Polo is pending before the end of the year, intended as a second entry route that avoids the coastal section known as El Derrumbado; and the one from Duvergé, Puerto Escondido and Pedernales, which would link Bahoruco, Independencia and San Juan with the tourist center of Pedernales to meet its demand for labor.
Regarding mass transit, Estrella said that the metro, monorail, and cable car system currently handles 21% of the city's trips, compared to 5% for bus corridors, and that the goal is to increase daily trips from 305,000 to one million through an integrated fare system.
The remaining section of the Santiago monorail, affected by a social process that delayed the work, will enter dynamic circulation tests between October and November, with the goal of having it operational before the end of the year.
The minister also announced that he is working on regulations for electronic toll collection and on classifying toll evasion as an offense, a gap that he said is not covered by the current traffic law.
President Luis Abinader concluded the discussion by stating that his government will complete 80% of the major infrastructure projects currently underway before August 2028, although he acknowledged that others, such as the Santo Domingo monorail, will remain unfinished for the next administration to complete. "I haven't left a single project that the previous government started," he said, citing as an example a hospital in Barahona begun during Hipólito Mejía's presidency. Among the projects he assured would be completed during his term, he mentioned the 14-kilometer Santiago monorail, the Haina cable car, and the urban renewal project along the Duarte Highway.
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