The Dominican Republic is the market with the greatest potential in the Caribbean and has the possibility of becoming a tourism and logistics hub.
FORBES
In the last ten years, the arrival of passengers by air to the Dominican Republic registered an increase of almost three million, going from 5.1 million in 2013 to 7.9 million in 2022, according to statistics from the Central Bank (BCRD).
Adding up departures, the number of travelers exceeded 15.4 million last year alone, and 94% of them traveled through three airports: Punta Cana International Airport (8,181,879); Las Américas Airport (4,519,387); and Cibao Airport (1,796,207), according to the Statistical Report on Air Transport of the Civil Aviation Board of the Dominican Republic (JAC).
This is one of the arguments that the Dominican State and Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (Aerodom) use as a basis for the renewal of the concession contract signed in 1999 and which ends in 2030.
“The growth expectations for traffic are extraordinary. That is why we need to renew the contract right now, because the installed capacity, specifically at Las Américas Airport, will be exceeded before the end of the concession,” Aerodom CEO Mónika Infante, who was recently elected as president of the board of directors of the Airports Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC) for the 2024-2025 term, explained to Forbes in writing.
Infante argues that by 2028 the José Francisco Peña Gómez International Airport of the Americas (AILA-JFPG), located in Santo Domingo, would not have the capacity for the projected passenger traffic.
Modernization and technologies
In the letter addressed to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, states that this renovation would contribute to providing the country with "modern airport infrastructure".
Among the new technologies that VINCI Airports, Aerodom's parent company, would implement at the airports under its concession in the country are biometric control, a new baggage handling system and more self-service modules so that passengers can check in and complete other processes.
“The expectation is that with these new technologies, which use artificial intelligence to predict peak times and the necessary amount of facilities at each point, processes can be made smoother and lines can be shorter,” explains Infante.
Infante points out that these technologies have been deployed by the VINCI group, which manages more than 65 airports in 12 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas, among other places.
Infante adds that the group's interest in making these investments in Dominican airports is also due to the fact that the Dominican Republic is the market with the greatest potential in the Caribbean and has the possibility of becoming a tourist and logistics hub.
Investment plans
If the concession renewal is approved, extending until 2060, VINCI envisions an investment plan totaling $830 million. Some of these investments will begin immediately, such as the construction of a new terminal at AILA for $250 million.
In addition to AILA, the second busiest airport in the country after Punta Cana, Aerodom manages La Isabela-President Dr. Joaquín Balaguer Airport, located in Santo Domingo Norte; Gregorio Luperón Airport in Puerto Plata; María Montez Airport in Barahona; El Catey-President Juan Bosch Airport and Arroyo Barril Aerodrome, located in Samaná.
Cover photo: Aerodom.
