"With these solutions, MIVED is giving the sector a new face, and reaffirming its commitment to transparency and efficiency," said Raquel Peña, Vice President of the Republic.
SANTO DOMINGO.-What was a constant demand of the construction sector because it will reduce the process of processing licenses and permits, expedite the route that builders go through when undertaking a work and offer greater transparency to the procedures, was announced last night by the Ministry of Housing and Buildings (MIVED), accompanied by the vice president, Raquel Peña.
This is the "Single Window for Construction" (VUC) , an integrated system that will modernize the processing and obtaining of licenses and permits for the benefit of the construction sector; in order to expedite and facilitate, in one place, the necessary accreditations for the development of works.
“We want to improve the lives of Dominicans, and to achieve this, we must provide solutions to the construction sector so that it, in turn, can respond more effectively to our people and continue generating jobs as it has consistently done in recent years,” declared Carlos Bonilla, Minister of MIVED.
“We must use all the resources at our disposal to maximize our impact and create an efficient government. This idea, which is now a reality, represents a vision of the public sector, of government, and of the policies we develop. With these solutions, MIVED is giving the sector a new face and reaffirming its commitment to transparency and effectiveness,” said Raquel Peña, Vice President of the Republic, in her keynote address.
The Single Window for Construction (VUC) is strengthened by the addition of the urban manager, who will be responsible for conducting the legally required technical review before obtaining permits to begin construction. Meanwhile, the private technical supervisor is the specialist who will carry out the consulting and technical supervision work for a construction project.
Peña praised the VUC after indicating that the platform will allow for efficient service as a facilitator and enabler of construction investments in the Dominican Republic.
He stated that the launch of this window will allow for monitoring and tracking the response metrics of procedures prioritized by the Ministry of Housing and Buildings, within the framework of the Zero Bureaucracy plan and currently in the process of implementing links with other institutions and their procedures related to construction.
Gross domestic product
The Minister of Housing and Buildings, Carlos Bonilla, also reported that investments made in the construction sector between January and June of this year represented 15% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during that period.
“It is important to highlight that the construction sector has experienced a strong post-pandemic recovery and is one of the sectors driving the country's progress. Between January and June 2022, it represented 15% of GDP. Today, we support you so that you can continue to drive the progress of our people,” stated the head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (Mived).
Building permits have generated an investment of RD$252 billion
So far in 2022, building permits approved by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (Mived) have generated RD$252 billion in revenue for the government. Of that amount, RD$208 billion corresponds to housing construction.
Vivián Reyes Roca, Vice Minister of Standards and Transformations at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (Mived), stated that the number of building permits issued has been steadily increasing. According to her data, between August 2020 and August 2022, the number of permits issued exceeded the total number issued in the previous eight years by 44%.
He cited that, in 2020, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,204 licenses were issued; 1,255 in 2021 and for the end of this year there is a projection of 1,620 applications.
Reyes Roca explained that of the building permits granted, 84% correspond to housing; 7.4% to offices; 1.1% to lodging and the remaining 7% are permits for construction in other categories.
