Puerto Plata. – President Luis Abinader and the vice president, Raquel Peña, headed the forty-third Council of Ministers and Directors this Saturday, where the Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, reported that next year the Government will invest about 4,000 million pesos in this province alone. in the water sector.
Paliza indicated that President Abinader has instructed that in the shortest possible time the projects that were built more than a decade ago can be updated, so that Puerto Plata can once again have a definitive solution to the supply of drinking water.
In this sense, he stressed that a commission has been formed headed by the director of INAPA, Wellington Arnaud and complemented by the executive director of CoraaPlata and the Ministries of Environment and Tourism to design a plan to recover the account of the San Marcos River. and that it can generate the lowest level of contaminants, fundamentally to the Bay of Puerto Plata, which has so much meaning for the inhabitants of the area and in different aspects.
Minister Paliza celebrated that National Assets has transferred to the board that is seeking the construction of a Cancer Center in the Bride of the Atlantic, which is directed by Monsignor Julio César Cornier Amaro of nearly 10,000 square meters.
Paliza indicated that he has committed himself to, under their design, with prudent planning and budget, also make a significant contribution so that Puerto Plata can also have an oncology unit as soon as possible.
Minister Paliza highlighted that after 18 years a Government Council is held again in Puerto Plata. “Today the Dominican government headed by President Luis Abinader and the Vice President are working, talking, projecting and thinking only about the future of Puerto Plata.”
He stated that different sectors of organized life in Puerto Plata, the business sector, business unions and the community sector have been heard.
He also said that they have received several proposals, ideas, visions and priorities for the future of Puerto Plata and added that different ministries and general directors linked to actions that have already been undertaken, others that are in process, have put each one in context. of those actions to make Puerto Plata a better one.
More than two million cruise passengers
The Minister of the Presidency reported that more than 2 million visitors are projected in terms of cruises this year and this is also added to the real estate complement that has been growing in such a way that there are more than 9,000 offers of rooms of a nature other than the hotels such as Airbnb, which with the development of Punta Bergantín in the process of execution by the Reserve Bank, complements the full circle of the different services of the tourism sector to once again make Puerto Plata the benchmark for the Caribbean and all of Central America .
In another order, the official said that the Minister of the Interior and Police, Faride Raful, made a presentation where she pointed out that Puerto Plata is one of the points in the country with the lowest level of crime in the entire Dominican Republic.
He also said that Puerto Plata is one of the provinces with the lowest homicide rates in the entire country, an element that should be celebrated because it has been the effort not only of the Dominican government but also of the combination that is usually made between the public sector and the private sector together with the Ministry of Tourism, the governorate of Puerto Plata and other elements.
Meanwhile, President Abinader highlighted that this Government administration has allocated seven times more than previous governments on issues such as water.
The governor also referred to the Brigantín project, which he said seeks to be the spearhead of the relaunch of tourism in Puerto Plata
Regarding the main determinants for the development shown by Puerto Plata, the vice minister of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, Domingo Matías, said that the province had been demanding the Municipal Territorial Planning Plan for more than 25 years, which will be completed in the next few years. six months and added that this four-year period all the municipalities will have their plan and in addition that the province will have its development strategy.
In that sense, President Abinader stated that among the 5 main laws is the Territorial Planning Law, which he said will help sustainable development and he took the opportunity to call on the entire society to get involved in the territorial planning of each municipality.
Puerto Plata: achievements and progress of the 2020-2024 quadrennium
The director of the National Health Service, Mario Lama, reported that the institution has RD$891 million pesos in execution in the province, of which RD$114 million have been executed. He also highlighted as achievements in Puerto Plata an increase in consultations by 42%, in laboratory tests 115%; in imaging studies 112% and in surgeries 132%, in relation to 2020 and also important advances in Primary Care, increases in dental procedures, physiotherapy and cancer detection days.
For her part, the Minister of the Interior and Police, Faride Raful, highlighted the reduction of the accumulated crime rate in the province, going from 8.3% to 6.6% this year and showed within the progress of the reform to the security sector; the articulation of territorial criminal policy through the Task Force; More than 4,000 students are trained as police professionals and this October 960 women will join to be police professionals.
Likewise, the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, Andrés Bautista, congratulated the people of Puerto Plata because they know where they want to go and said that having the president on this council allows them to review what has been done and what is missing, according to priority.
Furthermore, the director of the IDAC, Igor Rodríguez, expressed that there has not been any municipality or municipal district in the province where the helping hand of the Government has not reached, where some RD$1,162 million pesos have been invested.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Public Works and Communications, Deligne Ascensión, reported that works worth about RD$11,200 million pesos are being carried out in the province, of which works worth RD$10,800 million pesos have been completed and in addition, The start of important roads, paving of streets, sidewalks and curbs is planned.
Also, the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, highlighted the strengthening of the tourism sector and the execution of infrastructure works in this province and cited as an example the arrival of 317,850 passengers and a projection of record growth.
In the same order, the Minister of Agriculture, Limber Cruz, explained that, in this province, they have carried out works such as renovation of zone offices, repair of local roads, school and home gardens, 456 tubular wells, 364 lagoons and 3,347 loans to producers.
Likewise, the executive directors of INAPA, Wellinton Arnaud, and CORAAPPLATA, Oliver Nazario, explained that the investment in water in this four-year period is around RD$1,000 million pesos and added that for this next year the investment will be approximately RD$8,000 million. of pesos, while announcing important projects for aqueducts, streams and others, to bring the definitive solution to drinking water and sanitation problems in the different municipalities of the province.
The executive president of Banreservas, Samuel Pereyra, reported that between 2020 and 2024 they have achieved significant milestones in financing, customer service and expansion of the product portfolio in this province and said that in addition, Banreservas supports the Port with financing as the only banking entity. Taino Bay and the Punta Bergantín project, where the Group acquired 9.6 million square meters.
The director of the Dominican Port Authority, Jean Luis Rodríguez, referred to ports such as Amber Cove and Taino Bay, the second of which was inaugurated in 2023, which generates 450 jobs and added that this province is receiving four times more ships than those received. throughout the history of Puerto Plata.
The director of the National Institute of Professional Technical Training (INFOTEP), Rafael Santos, indicated that 114,452 technicians from the San Felipe center have been trained from 2020 to 2024 and that the expansion of the training offer will continue.
The president of the Puerto Plata Chamber of Commerce, Mileyka Brugal, the businesswoman Liza Brugal and the representative of civil society, Carmen Cid, raised the needs of the province in different aspects.
