By Carlos Julio Feliz
Four years after that Luis Abinader announced before the National Assembly, on August 16, the beginning of the tourist development of this province, after taking the oath as president of the Republic in the midst of the worst health crisis, this area of the country is experiencing the transition process that is intensely reflected in this city and in Red Capein the latter, the place where the large hotel infrastructures are built.
Two years and three months ago, the president gave the first blow that marked the beginning of the development of this beautiful area of the country whose prospects have focused, for almost three decades, on tourism as the main demand of the inhabitants of the south, an activity that they propose as a solution to the situation of poverty in the most economically depressed region of the country.
You can read: Abinader’s inauguration in 2020 versus 2024: Differences and similarities
Following the announcement of the hotel facilities in August 2020, everything focused on the vehicle or type of modality that would be implemented to carry out the works and the public-private partnership was decided. Subsequently, the president gave the first shovel that marked the start of the works exactly two years and three months ago.
Travelers entering and leaving this town on the southern border can see from the Cabo Rojo bridge, as it is traditionally known, a panorama that is transforming the area in terms of road infrastructure.
The white of the huge stone and caliche fillings for the new roads stands out against the reddish dust left in the area by the extraction of bauxite, the raw material for aluminium.
The new crossing being built for communication to and from Cabo Rojo is now in sight, which includes another entrance from the road that connects Oviedo and Pedernales. Work is underway on a new crossing from the east to the south to go to the cape, as well as another to the old Alcoa facilities, from Pedernales and towards the Bahoruco Mountainsin the northern part, where the natural attractions of Aceitillar and Pelempito are located along the modern road built by the American mining company Alcoa Exploration Companyin the late 1950s.
The place experiences a transformation where the subsidiary of the company operated Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA)for four decades, for the exploitation and export of bauxite, which in the sixties and seventies was the mineral that characterized the predominant metallurgical industry.
The road to Cabo Rojo, now geared towards tourism, looks transformed. The southern section of the highway, of unrivalled quality in the country that the mining company left behind, is being surpassed in width and length. It is now undergoing transformation, from the bridge to the Caribbean Sea, with a width almost three times that of the original road. In some sections preparations are already being made for asphalting, and in some places it is even covered by the new layer.
The modern road under construction extends southwards along the easternmost part with a fork towards the eagles bay areathe province brand, and another for the part of the hotels under construction that are located about two hundred meters from the seashore where the waters have various shades of blue.
From the new highway, to the west, a new road is being built towards the remodeled port of Cabo Rojo, built by the mining company Alcoa in 1959, and whose conversion into a tourist port is in the final stage, after the first stage marked by the arrival of the Nowegian Pearlfrom the Nowegian Cruise Lines company, the first cruise ship to dock in the beautiful port, prior to the inauguration led by the President of the Republic, Luís Abinader, on the morning of January 4, 2024.
This week, the president announced that starting in October, a cruise ship will be received every eight days at the port of Cabo Rojo, Pedernales, whose conversion work is being carried out by the Mexican company ITM Group and which will ultimately include a theme park.
Last week, the fishing pier was inaugurated in the area near the port, on the impressive coast of Cabo Rojo. The event was led by Vice President Raquel Peña and the Executive Director of the Port Authority (APORDOM), Jean Luis Rodriguez.
Later, the Vice President toured the facilities of Port Cabo Rojo, together with Rodríguez, and then went to the hotels under construction where she received explanations from Minister Sigmund Freund, responsible for the PRO-PEDERNALES trust, who showed Mrs. Raquel and the entourage the hotel facilities being completed, including the model room.
The first two hotels to be operated by the Spanish and American chains, Iberostar and the Inclusive Collection Part Word of Hyatt, respectively, consist of around 500 rooms. The first groundbreakings were given by President Abinader on February 5, 2023. These two facilities will be inaugurated next year, as announced by the Minister of the Presidency, Joel Santos.
The construction of these works, together with other basic services, such as sanitation, aqueducts and others, have generated more than two thousand jobs, according to the authorities. Some entrepreneurs from the province and others who have arrived from other areas, including foreigners, have begun to settle in Pedernales.
All this has generated dynamism that is reflected in the border town with a significant increase in cars, motors of all kinds, the installation of new businesses and small hotels. The main ones that exist in the town have been rented to companies that work on the construction of these works, such as roads, the new aqueduct, electrical installations and others. The community members have built new rooms.
Work is underway on the perimeter fence around the international airport between Tres Charcos and Manuel Goya, communities in the municipality of Oviedo, in the province of Pedernales. It is estimated that it will be the third busiest airport in the country, after Punta Cana and Las Américas.
Three universities are beginning to build their facilities, including an extension of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), one of the Evangelical University (UNEV), the Technological Institute of the Americas (ITLA), the Technical Professional Training Institute (INFOTEP) and the Technological Catholic University of Barahona (UCATEBA). The latter is already in the process of being built.
This dynamism in the local economy has caused demand for energy consumption to skyrocket, exceeding the supply capacity, which is why, according to experts, planning was not foreseen after the violent growth. This has generated a crisis in supply that has led to protests.
Community leaders, local authorities and representatives of Edesur and Ege-Haina They analyzed the situation during a meeting with the community and are seeking to mitigate the crisis while a definitive solution is found.
But, according to the authorities, it will be at the end of the year that the substation that is being installed in Los Olivares, four kilometers from the town, in the east zone, will come into operation to complete the process of connection to the national grid that began during the last government administration and that the new government continued in an accelerated manner. Pedernales is the only town that is not interconnected to the national system.
As for the road, divided into two sections, there is a delay in the Barahona-Enriquillo section, especially in the area of the San Rafael resort and the part known as “El Derrumbao”, in this part, belonging to the Barahona province.
Around the Enriquillo-Pedernales section The progress has been more noticeable recently in the Sansón area between Oviedo and the curves. It can be seen that the new road has a width for four lanes in the Sansón straight section, about 15 kilometers. It is not yet at asphalt level and the dust and gravel are the greatest inconvenience for motorists who travel through the area.
But the curves, which number 85 in a 25-kilometre stretch, remain a headache for the constructors.
This is how the transition towards the development of Pedernales is experienced, which is expected to impact, in its most advanced stage, the Enriquillo region, which is made up of, in addition to this province, the provinces of Barahona, Bahoruco and Independencia.
