An office building with 21 spaces for interviews and offices will be constructed. The approximate cost of the project is $72.5 million pesos.
SANTO DOMINGO - Following the crisis with Haiti, which arose from the construction of an irrigation canal on the Massacre River, the Dominican Republic continues to adopt immigration measures to control the trafficking of undocumented immigrants to this country.
In that regard, the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) is preparing to urgently construct three pavilions to house 960 undocumented immigrants and an office area at the Haina Migration Control Detention Center.
The project, according to a publication by Diario Libre, is among the actions ordered by President Luis Abinader, after Haiti refused to stop the construction of the Masacre.
Immigration authorities acknowledge the collapse of reception and data processing centers due to the significant increase in the Haitian presence in the country. As a result, operations have been intensified nationwide, and the number of deportations has risen. In September alone, the month the border was closed, 22,563 Haitians were deported, according to Diario Libre.
According to Migration data, in the first six months of the year a total of 124,471 Haitians were returned to their country, of which 91,588 were deported and 32,883 were repatriated.
Pavilions
The call for bids for the construction of the pavilions and the office area was made through an emergency exception process published on the Purchasing and Contracting website.
The building plans indicate that there will be three pavilions for undocumented immigrants, two with a capacity of 320 people and one with a capacity of 240. Each pavilion will have toilet and handwashing facilities. In addition, a holding cell with a capacity of 80 people will be built.
Alongside the pavilions, an office building with 21 spaces for interviews and offices will be constructed. The approximate cost of this project is $72.5 million pesos.
Why an urgent process?
The Director General of Migration, Venancio Alcántara Valdez, justifies the urgency of the project by stating that it is a situation of "unforeseen, unpredictable, immediate, concrete, and proven circumstances, for which it is not possible to apply the selection procedures established by law in a timely manner." Those interested in participating in the bidding process must submit their proposals no later than 9:00 a.m. on October 30, 2023, in sealed envelopes.
