SANTO DOMINGO - The 8th edition of the National Housing Roundtable, whose opening will be attended by President Luis Abinader, will bring a wealth of current content with more than twenty national and international experts, who will speak about the construction industry and its new trends.
The agenda for the meeting organized by the Association of Housing Builders and Developers (ACOPROVI) will begin with a panel on the rental law. “ Vision 2030 for Access to Housing in the Face of a New and Updated Rental Law, Real Estate and Evictions in the Dominican Republic: Impact and Revolution in the Market” is the topic that will open the event.
The discussion will be addressed by various stakeholders: the investor perspective will be presented by Santiago Sicard, executive president of the Dominican Republic Investment Funds Association; the economic framework by Raúl Ovalles, economist and partner at Analítica; the legal and regulatory aspects will be explained by Robinson Cuello Shanlatte, senior partner at Cuello Shanlatte & Associates; and the developers' and builders' perspective will be represented by engineer Guillermo Sención, executive partner of Grupo Sención. The discussion will be moderated by Julissa Burgos, a board member of ACOPROVI.
The second part of the event, to be held next Thursday, October 12th, will focus on ACOPROVI's proposals for a comprehensive strategy to achieve access to decent housing within the framework of the National Development Strategy. This will include the presentation of the document "Vision 2030: ACOPROVI's Proposals," which will outline the national pact for access to decent housing and for decent employment for construction workers. The National School for Training Construction Technicians will also be presented, along with an agreement with Pro Consumidor (the consumer protection agency) on best practices in housing construction. The presenter will be Annerys Meléndez, president of ACOPROVI.
Progress towards the Ten-Year Housing Plan in the Dominican Republic and the Dominican Construction Code will be chaired by the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED), with speakers Joan Guerrero, director of policies, planning and development and Vivian Reyes, vice minister of Standards and Procedures.
The 2023 National Housing Roundtable will feature a panel discussion on urban development in the Dominican Republic, its challenges and opportunities. It will be led by Mayobanex Suazo, Director of Urban Planning for the National District; Rafael Barón Duluc, Mayor of La Altagracia; and Angel Sosa, Director of Urban Planning for Santo Domingo East. It will be moderated by Jorge Montalvo, former president of ACOPROVI.
The topic of Urban Development: Santo Domingo's Supercity will feature a presentation by Alfonso Vergara of the Metrópoli Foundation, Spain. An inter-institutional agreement between that organization and ACOPROVI will also be announced.
The new trends in the real estate market will be addressed in the afternoon session with international expert Monique de Céspedes, from Grupo 4S, Panama, a consulting firm for the development of real estate projects with a presence in 16 countries and a portfolio of more than 1500 projects.
The new trends in the housing real estate market will be presented by architects Carlos Aguilar, Frank Ortega, Eduardo Sánchez and Juan Raúl Ruiz, moderated by Carmen Ortega, content editor of ARQUITEXTO magazine.
The focus on sustainability in construction will be presented by David Serna, Lead Chair Advisor at Green Taxonomy, from Colombia. The topic of sustainable housing construction and its financing in the Dominican Republic will be discussed by Yermys Peña, CEO of Partners Construger and CEO of Yermys Peña Studio; Olga Nivar, from the country's Superintendency of the Securities Market; Banco Popular Dominicano with its Hazte ECO program; while innovation in sustainable construction will be addressed by Santiago Duque, director of modular solutions at Argos Dominicana.
The plenary session on housing finance in the country—current situation, challenges, and opportunities—will feature experts Alejandro Fernández, Superintendent of Banks; Camel Cury, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Presidency; Rosanna Ruiz, Executive President of the Association of Multiple Banks (ABA); and Manuel Cocco, Executive Director of the Dominican League of Savings and Loan Associations. Nurys Marte, from the board of directors of ACOPROVI, will moderate.
The agenda also includes the topic of housing construction and development: the case of Constructora Bisonó with Rafael Bisonó as the speaker.
Access to housing through the use of pension funds: a success story from Peru, will be presented by Rodolfo Santa María Razzeto, CEO of MASHA Peru.
At the 8th National Housing Roundtable, the book "Real Estate in the Dominican Republic" by Julissa Burgos will be launched, in addition to some agreements that will be signed with entities linked to the construction sector.
Similarly, ACOPROVI indicates that free access training workshops will be offered to students, workers and collaborators in the construction industry, covering practical topics such as project processing, management and administration, as well as construction techniques and innovations.
