PUERTO PLATA – Tourism Minister David Collado announced that technical executives from TransMilenio, the public transportation system of Bogotá (Colombia), have been formally invited to the Dominican Republic to conduct a technical survey of the Puerto Plata Cable Car. The goal is to provide formal recommendations to determine the feasibility of its rehabilitation or reconstruction, at no cost to the Dominican State.
The invitation, as Collado explained in his public statements, will also be sent to the Dominican ambassador in Colombia as part of the institutional procedure to coordinate international technical assistance.
Delays and suspension of operations
The Puerto Plata Cable Car, officially known as the cable transport to Loma Isabel de Torres, was originally inaugurated in 1975 and is considered a tourist icon of that northern Dominican province, with cabins designed to offer panoramic views and facilitate the movement of visitors to the top of the mountain.
However, since June 2024 the cable car has ceased operations with plans to replace the old system with a modern one, due to advanced structural deterioration and the loss of safety certifications necessary for its safe operation.
This closure has lasted for more than a year, generating complaints and concern among merchants, workers and other local stakeholders who depend directly on the operation of the cable car as a tourist attraction.
Recently, in December 2025, a “symbolic inauguration” was held 18 months after its closure, in an event where representatives of vendors and transporters recalled that the work should be ready within that time and criticized the lack of tangible progress in the rehabilitation.
The data that explains the real impact
According to reports, the government valued the project at approximately US$64 million, while merchants and vendors indicated that quotes from private companies estimated a cost of around US$22 million for comparable work, reflecting a significant discrepancy in investment projections.
This discrepancy directly impacts economic actors linked to tourism, including taxi drivers, tour guides and street vendors whose activity depends on the presence of visitors to the cable car.
Specific fact
Minister David Collado stated that TransMilenio technicians will come to the country "selflessly, at no cost to the Dominican Republic, to conduct an analysis and make a formal recommendation" that will define the technical path to follow for the cable car.
TransMilenio is the main bus rapid transit system in Bogotá, Colombia, serving hundreds of thousands of users daily, and is considered a technical benchmark in urban and cable transport systems.
Direct impact on works and projects
The shutdown of the Puerto Plata cable car, which had been out of operation for several months since June 2024, has had visible effects on the local economic dynamics, affecting the provision of tourist services and the income of various economic activities in the upper part of the city.
Documented situations include:
- The prolonged closure has left vendors and tour guides who operated around the cable car without employment or a stable income.
- The apparent interest in evaluating rehabilitation or reconstruction arises after the prolonged shutdown and the need to certify the safety of the system.
- There are complaints from local productive sectors about the lack of a concrete response and a clear implementation schedule.
This type of technical analysis—conducted by a foreign entity with experience in complex transportation systems—is a formal preliminary step to define costs, execution times, and safety requirements before starting any significant phase of construction.
'What is the purpose of this international aid?'
The participation of technical experts from TransMilenio, Bogotá's (Colombia) public transportation system, marks a formal evaluation stage that could determine whether the Puerto Plata cable car will be rehabilitated or replaced with a modern structure. This phase is key to establishing the technical plan, cost estimates, and timeline before any physical work begins, and it responds to a growing public demand after more than a year of inactivity.
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