SANTO DOMINGO – The Ministry of Housing, Habitat, and Buildings (MIVHED) received the largest government investment budget last year, at RD$41,334.9 million, placing it first in this category.
They are followed by CAASD, with RD$29,515.7; the Office for the Reorganization of Transportation (OPRET), with RD$29,353.5; Inapa, with RD$14,715.0; and the La Vega Water and Sewerage Corporation, with RD$8,297.7, revealed the morning newspaper Listín Diario, in a work published this week.
In the case of the entities with the highest number of approved projects, MIVHED also appears within the first five institutions, with a total of 34; in first place is the National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewerage (INAPA), with 94; the Presidential Commission for Support to Provincial Development, with 38; the General Directorate of Strategic and Special Projects of the Presidency (PROPEEP), with 9; and the Corporation of the Aqueduct and Sewerage of Santo Domingo (CAASD), with 7.
Among the main public housing investment projects is the improvement of 100,000 homes, which is being carried out by the Ministry, with an investment of RD$ 9,076.5 million.
Other major public works approved last year include the construction of line 2C of the Santo Domingo metro, Los Alcarrizos – Luperón section, for an amount of RD$ 29,353.5 million, which according to the Office for the Reorganization of Transportation (Opret), will be ready in 24 months.
The expansion of the micro-network of drinking water supply for the Cancino Adentro sector, Santo Domingo East, which will be carried out by CAASD at a cost of RD$ 16,488.9 million, is added to the list.
Work on this project began in April of last year and was scheduled to be completed within eight months.
Among the five most important projects is also included the construction of the sanitary sewer system and reconstruction of the aqueduct of Jarabacoa, La Vega, executed by the Corporation of the Aqueduct and Sewerage of La Vega (CORAAVEGA) at a cost of RD$ 8,018.3 million.
In addition, the expansion of the eastern aqueduct, salinity barrier and transfer to Santo Domingo Norte, phase II, which is being carried out by CAASD with an investment of RD$ 7,351.0 million.
Investment plans
In total, 254 public investment plans were approved last year for a total of RD$156,322.1 million, according to records from the General Directorate of Public Investment (DGIP). Last December alone, 27 plans were approved at a cost of RD$6,000 million.
Although the number and amount of projects approved in 2021 is much higher than in 2020, when only 15 were approved for about RD$43,026.3, they are lower than those approved in 2019, the media outlet reports.
Although 274 projects were approved in 2019, 20 more than in 2021, the amount of investment approved last year was much higher. In 2019 it totaled RD$79,480.7 million, and last year it reached RD$156,322.1 million, a difference of RD$76,841.4 million.
“45.1% of the projects approved between January and December 2021 correspond to public companies, while 36.1% belong to the central government, followed by municipal governments (16.9%). The largest amount of approved investment corresponds to the central government (RD$79,818.8 million) and the second place is occupied by public companies with RD$69,090.6 million,” details the DGIP report.
Creation of MIVHED
Law 160-21 of August 3, 2021, created the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED), which, upon entering into force, absorbed a large part of the functions and budget of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications and other State entities that build public works.
Its mission includes "promoting and executing the construction of all types of housing and public buildings, including hospitals, schools, universities, museums, buildings for the use or operation of public bodies and entities, public buildings in general and related works, including those that may result from public-private partnerships or trusts.".
Its task also includes the massive improvement of housing and facilitating access to it, and establishing "the criteria and guidelines for granting or issuing licenses and authorizations for the construction of public and private buildings, as well as establishing the criteria for the management and issuance of technical regulations for the construction of public and private buildings throughout the national territory.".
The function of issuing building permits was the responsibility of the General Directorate of Buildings, created in June 1959 by Law 5150, as a dependency of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications .
With Law 160-21, the aforementioned legislation is repealed and all the powers and responsibilities of the General Directorate of Buildings are transferred to the MIVHED.
