SANTO DOMINGO.-The Deputy Minister of Road Infrastructure of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC), engineer Elías Santana, reported that the institution has opened a new tender for more than three billion pesos for the completion of the construction of the Baní Bypass.
The official indicated that this new bidding process does not affect the current builders in any way and aims to construct fundamental parts of the road that were omitted from the original bidding contract, such as bridges, traffic interchanges, water crossings, and the toll station. Furthermore, it must take into account the variation in prices for labor, equipment, and materials to be used in the work, among other aspects.
He explained that when the original project was put out to tender, the Ministry itself had stipulated a budget of approximately RD$4 billion; however, inexplicably, it was awarded for approximately RD$2.2 billion, slightly more than 50% of what the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) had anticipated.
He stated that with the original amount allocated for the project, “it was known that it was not possible to complete the important Baní bypass.”
He stated that when the current administration took over the project, it faced the dilemma of either re-tendering or returning the initial contract to its beneficiaries, opting for the latter because, among other things, re-tendering would delay the start by at least 6 or 8 months, and considering that they had an initial amount of RD$400 million that they had not used, it preferred to apply the principle of continuity of the State and gain time in the construction.
Santana reported that today a tender for more than three billion pesos is being held to complete the project, since the original contract would only finish 80% of the earthwork.
The Baní Bypass is part of the Southern Road Circuit, made up of a set of roads that will reduce travel time from the capital to the tourist province of Pedernales.
The Government has already inaugurated the Azua bypass with a 14-kilometer route that allows vehicles heading to and from the Southern region to avoid passing through the urban center.
The Baní bypass will have a length of 19 kilometers that extend, through the South of the city, from the Sánchez road, before Paya to the community of Galeón.
