Senior government leaders in the Dominican Republic have formally opened the final phase of a sweeping waterfront redevelopment project along the capital’s eastern coast, capping off a public investment initiative designed to boost local quality of life and national tourism. On Wednesday, President Luis Abinader joined Tourism Minister David Collado in Santo Domingo to inaugurate the second phase of the Santo Domingo East Boardwalk reconstruction, bringing the multi-stage transformation to an official close.
The full revitalization effort has carried a total public investment price tag of more than 685 million Dominican pesos, with the second and final phase alone accounting for 314.4 million pesos in spending. The completed project stretches 4.1 continuous kilometers along the Avenida España coastal corridor, running from the Dominican Naval Base in the north to the Las Américas Highway in the south. In total, the redevelopment has delivered more than 237,000 square meters of new public recreational and green space for local communities and visitors.
Speaking to attendees at the inauguration ceremony, President Abinader underlined the far-reaching benefits the project will deliver for three key local sectors: tourism, public recreation, and urban development across Santo Domingo East. He framed the newly renovated boardwalk as a world-class, accessible public gathering space that will serve both long-term residents of the area and the thousands of domestic and international tourists who visit the Dominican capital each year.
For his part, Tourism Minister David Collado noted that the boardwalk project is not an isolated initiative, but a core component of the Ministry of Tourism’s national strategy to restore and modernize waterfront and coastal public spaces across every region of the Dominican Republic. Collado emphasized that integrated coastal development serves dual purposes: it strengthens community connection to public natural spaces, while also expanding the country’s tourism infrastructure to attract more visitors and drive long-term economic growth.
The comprehensive infrastructure intervention included a wide range of public works beyond new green and recreational space. Construction crews built new pedestrian sidewalks, dedicated bicycle lanes, internal access roads, and landscaped central medians along the corridor. The project also added 11 new public parking areas, multiple open recreational plazas, new public urban furniture, upgraded stormwater drainage systems, and modernized electrical infrastructure to support public operations and safety along the boardwalk.
The inauguration ceremony drew a broad cross-section of public and community stakeholders, including municipal and provincial government leaders from the Santo Domingo East region, senior national government officials, and representatives from local business, community, and tourism sectors. Attendees framed the completed project as a landmark public investment that will deliver tangible benefits to the region for decades to come.