SANTO DOMINGO- President Luis Abinader and Tourism Minister David Collado today inaugurated the second phase of the renovation of the Duarte and Paris intersection, in a ceremony attended by the mayor of the National District, Carolina Mejía.
This is the most impactful urban project ever undertaken in the Dominican capital. It began to take shape 5 years ago when Collado was still mayor of the city, and was achieved with an investment of more than 202 million pesos, which were contributed through the Acción, Emprende y Transforma Foundation.
President Abinader inaugurated the project and assured that the central government will continue to support similar initiatives, not only in Santo Domingo but also in other cities throughout the country. He also thanked the private sector companies that contributed resources through the Acción, Emprende y Transforma Foundation, enabling the Duarte and París intersection to shine brightly today.
Collado recalled that this intervention began thanks to a collaboration agreement with the city of Guayaquil, where a similar urban renewal process took place. The street vendors of Santo Domingo traveled to the South American city with Dominican architects, and the intervention process was launched. Phase 1 was inaugurated in 2021, and Phase 2 concluded today.
“Today we fulfilled our promise to the street vendors and to the city! The days of saying 'it's like Duarte and Paris to refer to something dirty or disorganized' are over, because from today onwards Duarte and Paris is a benchmark of organization and respect for human dignity,” Collado stated.
The project was carried out with private funds in agreement with the Mayor's Office of the National District and its head, Carolina Mejía, as a result of the situation the city was experiencing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This project fills us with pride, and all the street vendors in the area can rest assured that our mayor's office will continue working to preserve this great renovation together with them and also continue expanding the intervention areas,” stated Mayor Mejía.
This project will improve commerce and pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area, as the avenue will now have two lanes that had been lost due to the number of tables that previously occupied the sidewalks and streets.
In addition, work was carried out on the roads, street furniture, lighting, paving and cobblestone of the streets, undergrounding of cables, painting, among other beautification and ornamentation initiatives.
Minister Collado took the opportunity to thank all the street vendors for their willingness to make this dream of reclaiming an urban space in the city a reality. He also recognized architects Juan Mubarak, Shanei Peña, and Amín Abel for their outstanding work alongside national and international authorities in guiding Santo Domingo toward the recovery of urban spaces for its people.
