The one-stop shop for construction was launched in September of last year by the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED).
SANTO DOMINGO. – The construction sector is registering an average savings of RD$26 billion through the single window system for processing permits, and has reduced the processing time from 206 to 60 days for non-complex projects and from 206 to 120 days for complex projects.
This was announced yesterday by President Luis Abinader during the weekly press conference, where he highlighted some of the achievements and progress made through the Zero Bureaucracy program, which allows companies and citizens in general to access a wide variety of public services through a single digital platform.
The construction one-stop shop program was launched in September of last year by the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED), and it is an integrated system that seeks to modernize the processing and obtaining of licenses and permits for the benefit of the construction sector; in order to expedite and facilitate, in one place, the accreditations necessary for the development of works.
During the launch event last year, Vice President Raquel Peña said that the launch of this service window will allow for monitoring and tracking the response metrics of procedures prioritized by the MIVHED, within the framework of the Zero Bureaucracy plan.
To date, Zero Bureaucracy averages a reduction of 125 hours for citizens and an estimated savings of up to RD 60 billion. In these three years, it has more than 300 procedures and services from 60institutions, with 8,817 registered users, according to data provided by the head of state.
The president said that by the end of 2023, the government is expected to be 85% integrated.
Meanwhile, the executive director of the National Competitiveness Council, Peter Prazmowski, added that a citizen service point will be established in each governorate, to bring these facilities to many more people and provide assistance to those who need it.
General Directorate of Customs
The offices in the DGA saved more than RD 500.44 million in the first year and whose beneficiaries correspond, in 68%, to small and medium-sized enterprises.
A total of 30,000 containers have been dispatched in 24 hours or less, and another 60,000 containers in less than 48 hours.
New businesses
Likewise, the opening of businesses has been impacted with a reduction from 16 days to 30 hours and work is still underway to reduce it to a single online application, with a maximum term of 24 hours.
Similarly, ONAPI has achieved savings exceeding RD$11.87 million, with processing times reduced from 24 to 4 hours. Meanwhile, the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) has achieved savings exceeding RD$28.11 million for RNCs, decreasing the wait time from 5 days to 5 hours.
Industry
At ProIndustria, processing times and registrations have been reduced by 30%, resulting in savings of RD$1 million.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has achieved an 80% reduction in certifications for SMEs, benefiting 12,000 companies, with savings of RD 219.71 million.
Mescyt
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology has experienced a transformation in the application for English immersion scholarships, achieving a savings of RD 236.74 million.
Furthermore, the procedures for the validation of pre-university studies for nationals and foreigners have been reduced from 60 days to just 15 days, with a savings of RD 367.65 million.
Single educational record
This new approach consists of a system where citizens' information on education is concentrated, through the interoperability of the different institutions that are part of the system, these are, the Ministry of Education (Minerd), the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Mescyt), Infotep and the Institute of Public Administration (INAP).
Since its launch in August, the single file has revolutionized the way citizens manage their educational certificates, with a total of 238,432 issued, resulting in savings of more than RD 480 million.
Modernization of state services and agencies
President Luis Abinader also highlighted the following achievements:
Progress has been made in the review and updating of Organic Law No. 04-23, on Civil Status Acts, along with the preparation of its regulations, and technical work has been carried out in collaboration with the Central Electoral Board (JCE), to achieve the interoperability of the National Civil Registry System.
The time required to obtain professional exequatur has been reduced, and progress has been made in interoperability with more than 10 institutions. Improvements have also been made at the Directorate General of Medicines, Food and Health Products (Digemaps), and the Central Unit for Tourist Procedures (UCTT), the Single Window for Investment (VUI), the registry of labor actions, and the issuance and renewal of passports have been created.
