PUERTO PLATA – In a significant announcement at the Puerto Plata Business Forum 2026, Minister José Ignacio Paliza revealed comprehensive development initiatives for the region, centering on a new Municipal Land Use Plan designed to foster sustainable urban expansion. This strategic blueprint aims to promote compact city development, safeguard natural resources, and enhance the quality of public services for residents.
Complementing this urban vision, the government is set to initiate a tender process for the modernization of the iconic Puerto Plata Cable Car system. The planned upgrades are projected to significantly increase its passenger capacity and drastically reduce travel time, boosting both tourist accessibility and local transportation efficiency.
Minister Paliza positioned these local projects within the broader national framework of the ambitious Meta RD 2036 plan. This national strategy targets a doubling of the Dominican Republic’s economy within a ten-year horizon. Paliza presented compelling economic indicators to underscore current momentum, including a national workforce exceeding 5.1 million people, the creation of 133,000 new jobs in 2025 alone, declining poverty metrics, and a substantial influx of foreign investment surpassing US$5 billion.
Highlighting Puerto Plata as a paradigm of this national development model, Paliza cited the multifaceted Punta Bergantín project. This large-scale development encompasses luxury hotel accommodations, a new academic campus, and a state-of-the-art film production studio. Further underscoring the commitment to infrastructure, he detailed the Amber Highway project, a new transport corridor engineered to connect Santiago and Puerto Plata in under thirty minutes.
Government authorities emphasized that these interconnected initiatives represent a cohesive, long-term strategy to elevate the nation’s global competitiveness, stimulate sustained economic growth, and fundamentally improve the quality of life for its citizens by the target year of 2036.