SANTO DOMINGO - The Government has invested more than RD$30,000,000,000 to date through the National Asphalt Plan and has so far managed to pave more than 2,592 kilometers of streets and avenues in the different provinces of the country, together with the municipalities of each locality.
Since August 2020, two phases of paving have been completed and a third is underway, according to information from the Deputy Minister and National Director of Paving of the Ministry of Public Works, Alejandro Francisco Brito Pérez.
“The reception we’ve received has been very positive. There were service delays under the previous administration, and the unmet demand is very high. The second phase is almost complete, with an average investment of ten billion pesos, and we are currently developing the second phase of the bidding process, which is under review by the Comptroller General’s Office. Those who won the contracts are waiting for them to be finalized,” he said.
Alongside the paving plan, another RD$4,000,000,000 project is being developed for sidewalks and curbs that complement the plan, because to pave the roads they must have sidewalks, curbs and a solved stormwater drainage system.
“There is a soil mechanics protocol to maintain the quality of the services we are providing, and this year, 2023, we will satisfy a large part of the national population based on the construction criteria that Public Works has,” he stated, according to a publication of the same date in Diario Libre.
Brito Pérez pointed out that each of the processes has adhered to the requirements of Law 340-06, on Purchases and Contracts of Goods, Services and Works with tenders and clarified that as a result of this transparency, they have not had the first objection from the participants in the tenders because the same control that is carried out validates the work that is done.
The coordination
The execution of the works is coordinated with the provincial governments and the mayoral offices of each locality, with whom the projects of each municipality and municipal district are prioritized and the program of their particular needs is monitored.
“We implement them based on the requests, we evaluate them and follow up, but they are the ones who have control of each community, they deliver reports to the minister and the President indicating how the services we offer are going and the President monitors everything related to the project weekly,” said Brito Pérez.
In some cases, the municipalities contribute some of the resources, taking into account their limited budgets. However, the Ministry of Public Works often cannot expect the municipalities to build sidewalks and curbs before paving, so in some instances, it assumes the entire project. The same applies to the work carried out by the Santo Domingo Water and Sewerage Corporation(CAASD) and the National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewerage (INAPA).
The deputy minister and director of the National Asphalt Plan clarifies that the case of intercity roads has a different handling and is the responsibility of Road Infrastructure, which corrects culverts, maintains bridges, and is a longer-term execution process.
The AC 30
To develop the paving plan, abundant raw materials are required, and according to Brito Pérez, the so-called AC-30 is not a problem, because the Dominican Petroleum Refinery (Refidomsa) coordinates with Paving and plans are in place to manage demand so as not to create a supply deficit.
“We work based on the bidding process and the infrastructure projects; we cross-reference that information on the volumes to be consumed with the Refinery so that the demand has the quota that corresponds to us and so that there is no supply crisis,” he said.
For the Minister of Public Works, Deligne Ascención, the program of reconstruction, paving and pothole repair of streets, construction of sidewalks and curbs in all provinces of the country is one of the most important projects that the Government is carrying out.
“It is an instruction from President Luis Abinader that within a year we resolve the needs for sidewalks and curbs, and, regarding paving, we can make significant progress in places that have never had asphalt due to the lack of sidewalks and curbs, and in others that, due to the deterioration of time, had not been applied and already warranted intervention,” he noted.
He emphasized that this is the most ambitious road paving program ever undertaken in the Dominican Republic. He stated that the resources for the program are obtained from the budget of the Ministry of Public Works and from bonds issued through the RD-Vial Trust, as well as from the support of international organizations, such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
