Seven weeks after the authorities and related businessmen gave the first bite, the project tourist Tip Brig The phase of clearing and preparing the land for the construction of the Hyatt Zilarathe first of the six hotels five stars to be built in Puerto Plata for the relaunch tourist of this province.
Some of the areas where the project will be built are already advanced. hotelwhich will add 800 rooms to the area’s offering and includes an investment of 209 million dollars. He hotel It would open its doors to the public between the end of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.
“That is where the clearing is being done, because we have just completed some studies to revalidate the composition of the floor“explained the executive director of Tip BrigAndrés Marranzini, to Free Diary.
This process is carried out in compliance with the study of impact environmentalwhich delimits the areas of the natural ecosystem that must be preserved during the constructionas is the case of the mangroves.
Tip Brig is an ambitious government-backed initiative that seeks to transform the region into a world-class destination.
This development covers 10 million square meters and includes, in addition to the construction up to six hotels five stars, 1,500 vacation units, 2,500 mixed-use units, a cinema center and a Marine Village.
The representative of Tip Brig in Puerto Plata, José Miguel González, explained that 30% of the area delimited for the construction of the Hyatt Zilara is covered in mangrovesforests that, in addition to being part of the natural environment, represent a heritage of great interest to the community.
“They have cut down coconuts, palm trees and almonds for the construction of the hotelbut not the mangroves“said González, who showed the team Free Diary the mangroves that have remained intact – even in the areas surrounding these forests that have had to be cleared –, including the mangroves near a lagoon that will be integrated into the building.
The land of Brigantine Point decades ago they were planted with sugar cane for the operations of the Montellano Ingenuitywhich became the main economic activity of Villa Montellano, a municipality where 20,753 people live, according to the National Statistics Office.
The project hopes to take advantage of the tourist vocation that also have these lands, generating a new development engine which could significantly impact the economic activity of Villa Montellano and the surrounding areas.
70
Maximum average number of cruise passengers who visit Playa Bergantín daily, especially on weekends.
The local offer
He project Share space with some little ones merchants who depend on the sale of jewelry, food and drinks for those just over 20 cruise passengers -up to 70 in the high season- who visit the beach daily Brig as part of your excursion package.
The peddlers that operate on the shores of the beach closest to the land on which the Hyatt Zilara they assured Free Diary who have been able to continue working without problems until now, although some of them remain expectant as to whether they will be able to continue operating as they have been doing for more than 40 years.
“Now they they are at the doorbut we are waiting to see if we can really find a way, or that they find a way for us, to seek sustenance each day, as we have done all this time,” he expressed. Luis José Henriquez Méndezowner of Elvis restaurant.
He assured that he is aware that tourismat some point, was going to rebound in the area.
“I am one of those people who say that the development of this country has to continue, and I am not opposed to that, we are not opposed because development benefits all parties and all sectors”Owner of Elvis restaurant.
Pedrito Polanco, member of the Association of Artisanal Beach Vendors Brig and Related, hopes that the hotels “bring more development”.
“Tourists here are very few on this beach, they come very rarely, but with those hotels things are going to be different”, he confides.
Respect for property
Some of the owners of business keep property about the plots adjacent to projectas is the case of Víctor Gutiérrez, owner of the Guajiro restaurant.
Understand that the hotels “they will grow the tourism in the area,” but thinks it is likely that his family will offer the only plot they maintain, for the operations of their business, in the event that they offered to buy it from them.
Marranzini confirmed that the areas in which the merchants They are not within the grounds of the property of Tip Brigand indicated that the project It has bought the lands of some owners who wanted it, respecting those who want to stay in the place.
“Us we are not affecting the area they are occupying. He hotel It does not include the areas in which they are,” he said.
However, he explained that the project could affect the way in which peddlers they currently work.
“When you do operations hotel Of that magnitude, there is how you manage and guarantee the interactions that are usually had with the propertybecause not necessarily the actions that are done in the property They are sustainable. Suddenly, they are doing something that is not very good from an environmental point of view, like putting cars on the beach, or cooking on a stove. There are certain things that will necessarily have to evolve, and the rules that exist will have to be applied,” he stated.
This is the case of some local companies that offer services of excursion for the cruise passengers who visit Puerto Plata, who are offered experiences such as horseback riding on the shores of the beach or in boogies.
Only in the hours when Free Diary was present in the vicinity of Bergantín beach, they had mobilized more than 70 tourists in boogiesreported Juan Carlos Cordero.
Cordero, who is an employee of one of the companies that give tours in boogiesindicated that they are already preparing for the search for routes alternate to access the beach without affecting the constructions in progress.
“My boss has been telling me that they started to check if they are still going to give us the benefit of at least we can use the beachalthough we have to enter from the other side. “They are one of those things that are still on the table,” he said.
Until now, the owners of business They work normally and maintain the expectation of being present to see the materialization of an initiative that seeks to shore up the tourism as an economic activity that generates new sources of employment in Puerto Plata.
