The Dominican Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Construction Companies (Copymecon) said yesterday that the Happy Family Housing Plan (PVFF), which the Government is leading, fills an important space in the construction issue.
The president of the organization, Eliseo Cristopher, stressed that this project -which is an inclusion chapter- is carried out through the formation of an alliance in which the financial sector, builders and the Government participate, through some conditions granted .
As part of the PVFF, Ciudad Altos de la Riviera is being built, with 2,400 apartments under the trust modality, for the benefit of hundreds of Dominicans.
“It is not that the plan gives facilities to the builders, but rather that those facilities go to the buyers of the houses, such as the granting of some bonuses, which constitute a significant contribution,” Eliseo pointed out.
I speak on the subject during a visit to the director of the newspaper elCaribe, Nelson Rodríguez, together with Frank Guerrero, vice president of Copymecon; Edward del Villar, in charge of Projects, and Wilson Guerrero, in charge of Public Relations.
“If we see – and this is already in the particular order – President Luis Abinader is trying to make things arise and flow (…)”, said the president of Copymecon. “We see it as good and we see it profitable. When a micro, small or medium-sized construction company participates in a project, it is definitely an opportunity for that MSME to move forward and earn some resources. Here it is different; having the opportunity to participate and leave a tour of the Dominican financial sector, plus compliance with regulations, in the end what the builder is going to do by participating in the plan is to whet the appetite to continue working with the issue of the trust and with his own private works. We see the plan well…”, explained Eliseo Cristopher.
This Tuesday the organization plans to present a report on the behavior of the construction sector in 2021, from its point of view, and will also talk about the prospects for the current year and the existing challenges.
“In our sights is to advance in the construction sector and precisely this year we are in second place (the construction sector) in contribution to the economy and we see a year with certain perspectives,” said Eliseo.
And reinforcing this approach, the vice president of Copymecon, Frank Guerrero, indicated that “in terms of participation at the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) level, we are among those with the greatest contribution.”
And indeed, backed by the improvement in fields such as hotels, bars and restaurants, construction and free zones, among others, the monthly indicator of economic activity (IMAE) registered an accumulated average increase of 12.5% in January-November 2021 in the Dominican Republic, after experiencing an interannual variation of 13.1% in November.
This behavior in growth, higher than expected by the monetary authorities, led to the conclusion, according to the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), that the year 2021 would be ending with an increase in real gross domestic product (GDP). around 12% or more. And by the way, the country would be placed as one of the highest in Latin America. The bank has not yet submitted closing data.
The sectors that registered the most significant year-on-year variations compared to 2020 (according to the cut made last December) were: hotels, bars and restaurants (38.3%); construction (25.1%); free zone manufacturing (21.2%); transportation and storage (13.0%); trade (11.8%); local manufacturing (11.0%); other service activities (5.8%); and energy and water (5.3%).
The Copymecon will take advantage today to make some suggestions in order to make more progress in the field of construction in the Dominican Republic. “The interesting thing is that we come from a year of growth and the contributions in jobs are substantial.
We have had a significant recovery. In fact, by the third quarter of 2020 we had already recovered the level of jobs. Today we walk for 421,000 jobs. Obviously, the year 2021 was very positive”, assured Frank Guerrero at the meeting.
He announced that this Tuesday some proposals will be presented that, in his opinion, should be implemented or followed in order for the construction sector to continue as a locomotive for growth and national development. “The authorities have policies in monetary terms that may be different, but we cannot neglect growth, especially in sectors as strategic as construction,” said Guerrero.
