Mocha.– Representatives of the development associations and the chambers of commerce and production of Santiago, Espaillat, Hermanas Mirabal and Duarte, together with senators from these districts, signed the “Moca Declaration for Development”, a document that reaffirms the commitment to promote a territorial alliance to strengthen the integration, competitiveness and sustainability of Central Cibao.
The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Association for the Development of the Espaillat Province (ADEPE), in Moca, where business leaders, legislators and institutional representatives agreed on the need to articulate efforts to consolidate a shared regional vision.
The president of ADEPE, Amable Guzmán, expressed that the initiative will allow progress towards a development model based on interprovincial productive articulation, the strengthening of value chains, logistics modernization and the coordination of strategic services under a territorial network logic.
Call for greater integration
The senator of Espaillat, Carlos Gómez, highlighted the importance of optimizing complementarity between territories, avoiding duplication and enhancing the comparative advantages of each province to promote economic growth and the well-being of the population.
Meanwhile, the president of the Association for the Development of the Duarte province, Ramón Antigua, advocated for a joint agenda aimed at functional specialization in areas such as education and health, promoting the shared use of installed capacities and the continuous improvement of services.
From the business sector, the president of the Dominican Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Production and of the Hermanas Mirabal Chamber of Commerce, Manuel Aníbal García, stated that the competitiveness of Cibao Central requires structuring public investments that strengthen the connectivity and efficiency of the territory.
For his part, Dr. Luis Campos, from the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and Production, highlighted the positive impact of coordinated work between civil society organizations.
Cibao Central Express Highway
During the activity, senators Daniel Rivera (Santiago) and María Mercedes Ortiz (Hermanas Mirabal) emphasized the need to promote the construction of the Cibao Central Express Highway, conceived as a strategic project for the region.
The road, approximately 42 kilometers, would connect Santiago, from the Duarte highway, near the Cibao International Airport, with the San Francisco de Macorís ring road, which would reduce travel times and strengthen productive, logistical and service integration between the provinces.
In that sense, the president of the Association for the Development of Santiago (APEDI), Juan Mera, maintained that the work does not only represent a road improvement, but a key instrument to boost interprovincial trade, facilitate labor mobility and consolidate a regional economic corridor.
Joint declaration
At the end of the meeting, the participants signed a declaration in which they expressed their willingness to work in an articulated manner with the State, the academic sector, the private sector and international cooperation, in order to convert this vision into concrete plans, programs and projects that promote a more balanced, competitive and inclusive development of Cibao Central.
