The General Directorate of Public-Private Partnerships (DGAPP) presented members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in the country, business managers and representatives of international organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank, the details of the Pedernales Tourism Development Project Master Plan and the business opportunities it offers to local and foreign investors.
The executive director of the DGAPP, Sigmund Freund, thanked the diplomats for their interest in learning about the portfolio of initiatives that are structured in the country through the public-private partnership model, above all, the Cabo Rojo-Pedernales project, which he assured will become a regional benchmark for its potential for a luxury eco-friendly destination and for being the only tourist destination in the region planned and developed from scratch under a PPP.
After presenting the video “Come to Cabo Rojo Pedernales, a call from paradise”, Freund together with the technical deputy director of the DGAPP, Eliardo Cairo and the financial advisor of the Pro-Pedernales Trust, Ornella Oberto, explained in detail the details of the financial model from This project that will have an estimated investment of US$2,245 million and that in its first stage contemplates the construction of 4,700 hotel rooms.
He reiterated the commitment that the Dominican State and personally the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, has with the tourism development of Pedernales, a project that not only promises, due to its great attractions in a luxury destination, but is called to transform life economy of the people who live in the poorest provinces of the country, creating nearly 20,000 direct jobs and more than 50,000 indirect jobs.
Participants
The following ambassadors participated in this meeting: Annemieke Verrijp, from the Netherlands; Daniel Biran Bayor, from the State of Israel; Volker Pellet, from Germany; Iris Audelly Acuña, from Nicaragua; Carlos Peñafiel, from Mexico; Christine Laberge, from Canada; Oscar Toledo, from El Salvador.
Also present were the ambassadors Cristina Carrión, from Uruguay; Katja Afheldt, from the European Union; Rita Hämmaerli-Waschke, from the Swiss Confederation; Edwin Arias Chinchilla, from Costa Rica; Masahiro Takagi, from Japan; Santiago MartÃnez EspÃnola, from Ecuador; Maria Cecilia Rosas, from Peru; Javier Antonio Zepeda, from Guatemala.
Also present were the Minister Plenipotentiary and Chargé d’Affaires of the State of Qatar, Yaser Awad F. Al-Abdulla; the representative of the Organization of American States (OAS), Araceli Azuara; the resident coordinator of the United Nations System, Mauricio RamÃrez; the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rodrigo Castañeda Sepúlveda, the representative of the World Bank, AlexandrÃa Valerio and the Foreign Minister of Mexico, AgustÃn RodrÃguez.
About the project
The Pedernales Tourism Development Project, Cabo Rojo, is designed to be carried out in four phases, over an average period of 10 years, and an estimated investment of US$2,245 million.
In the first phase, an investment of US$1,300 million is stipulated for the construction of 4,700 rooms (which will become 12,000 rooms at the end of the project).
Eight hotels will start their operations during the opening of this first phase, for which the hotel chains Hilton, Marriott, Sunwing, AmResorts, Iberostar Group and Karisma Hotels & Resort have already signed a letter of commitment to begin the construction of their hotels from mid of this 2022.
In this first phase, an international airport will also be built in Pedernales, a shopping center and all the necessary basic infrastructure works will be completed, such as the construction of an aqueduct, a water treatment plant and an electrical transmission system.