This exclusive content reveals the structural vision for a regional-scale urban redesign, a long-term governance strategy, and a redefinition of Punta Cana's role in the Caribbean. A shift that reshapes the economic future of eastern Dominican Republic.
Punta Cana. – In an exclusive interview with El Inmobiliario , Carlos Vallderuten , CEO and president of Civis International Group Corporation , revealed for the first time the urban, economic and territorial architecture that supports the construction of the World Trade Center Punta Cana (WTC-PC), with a vision that transcends tourism to enter the realms of geoeconomics, advanced urbanism and global competitiveness.
The arrival of the WTC-PC would be the gateway to transforming that destination into the first Global City in the Caribbean, a city capable of attracting multinational investments, concentrating regional talent, sustaining tourism competitiveness, diversifying the Dominican economy, and becoming an urban benchmark in Latin America.
“This project is not a tower or a complex. The WTC will be a catalyst for integrating tourism, commerce, and services, generating thousands of jobs and attracting foreign investment with an organized ecosystem,” emphasized Carlos Vallderuten.
The CEO of the firm that advised Cruise On Land , the developer under whose umbrella the corporate center will be located, highlighted the country's tourism strength: "Punta Cana concentrates about 60% of the Dominican Republic's international tourism; it is a destination with a privileged location and cultural, natural and service content that positions it in the same league as the major tourist centers of the region."
According to the businessman, the WTC-PC will add a new level of competitiveness to the country, by becoming an international space, and he presented the master plan for this new planned city, designed to transcend political cycles, reorganize the territory and position Punta Cana as the most competitive urban hub in the Caribbean .
“Here we see the opportunity every urban planner looks for : a young territory, with a dynamic airport and a global destination. It’s the perfect place to build the future,” he said enthusiastically.
From Destination to Emerging Global City
Although Punta Cana is now the country’s tourism engine, Vallderuten cautions: “Punta Cana’s initial growth was spontaneous , with hotels around a prime beach,” and explains that the WTC-PC introduces a new urban order that integrates tourism, business, corporate services, and world-class infrastructure.
He explains that the project incorporates strategic urban planning and economic diversification criteria that are little explored in the Eastern region and, to explain it, introduces a conceptual framework that, he assures, "until now no one had explained clearly.".
The president of Civis elaborated on this unprecedented interpretation of the territory and stated that Punta Cana currently operates under two major territorial rents, explaining that the WTC-PC will add a third component :
1. Location rent: Advantages derived from its strategic position in the Caribbean, between North and South America, and from international connectivity, with its private airport , one of the most dynamic in the region, the position and capacity to receive large-scale international operations.
2. Content rental: Natural, cultural and service attributes that have made Punta Cana a leading tourist destination.
And then he adds the third component, which marks the true breakthrough, ensuring that no other tourist destination in the Caribbean has integrated on this scale:
3. International Corporate Content : The value generated by global companies, trade shows, conventions, and corporate services, permanently incorporating productivity, innovation, and global services.
“The WTC is the gateway for international corporate content to Punta Cana . It is what will expand the country's economy beyond tourism ,” he explained.
Aerotropolis: The territorial thesis of the project.
“Airports are the new ports of the 21st century,” Vallderuten states, comparing the evolution of Punta Cana with models like Dubai, Seoul, or Amsterdam , cities that have transformed air connectivity into engines of urban and business development.
Vallderuten argues that the World Trade Center Punta Cana will not simply be a business complex, but "the first anchor building" of a developing Caribbean aerotropolis, and points out that the combination of an expanding airport, a consolidated tourism industry, and the arrival of corporate content create the conditions for a highly productive urban hub .
Punta Cana, with its rapidly growing airport and dominant tourism industry, is, according to Civis, ideally positioned to evolve toward this model.
Urban governance for 50 to 70 years:
The cornerstone of the project is not financial or architectural, but institutional. Another revealing point of this interview is sustainability . The need for an urban governance model that supports the master plan for decades and transcends political cycles, comprised of the private sector, government, academia, and citizens , inspired by successful experiences such as Bilbao and Barcelona.
“A 5, 10, 50, or 70-year horizon is essential to transform Punta Cana into a Global City: stable, sustainable, and resilient. A city isn't built in four years.”«.
With the announcement of the World Trade Center in Punta Cana, Civis International introduces an ambitious project that seeks to transform the country's most important tourist destination into a new generation international business and urban development center.
The businessman, with more than 40 years of experience in the sector, assured that the Dominican Republic has the opportunity to promote this type of development through tax incentives, critical infrastructure and public policies that strengthen financial confidence.
Civis International Group Corporation has over 40 years of experience in Colombia, Peru and Panama. In the latter, it developed 1,850 hectares related to the expansion of Tocumen Airport, one of the largest airport projects in Latin America. This experience is now being transferred to Punta Cana, combining infrastructure, urban planning and economic content.
If the initiative comes to fruition, it would mark one of the most profound urban changes in the country's recent history.
This scenario suggests that the arrival of the WTC-PC will not only expand the supply of corporate and convention spaces, but will also act as an anchor for a new urban center, in an ecosystem that will include: hotels, specialized retail, residences, health services, technological infrastructure, innovation zones and space for global companies.
The impact, according to projections by Civis International Group Corporation, completely reconfigure
