In a major step forward for regional infrastructure development in the Dominican Republic, state highway authority RD Vial has officially greenlit a feasibility assessment for the long-proposed Central Cibao Expressway, a transformative project designed to boost connectivity across four key provinces in the country’s Cibao heartland.
RD Vial Director Hostos Rizik outlined the project’s scope in a recent statement, confirming that the new roadway will connect the existing San Francisco de Macorís highway to the heavily traveled Duarte Highway, positioned near the main entrance of Cibao International Airport. Rizik added that a third-party consulting firm has already received formal authorization to kick off preliminary technical analyses, noting that the project is a high-priority initiative for President Luis Abinader’s administration, which has pushed aggressively to advance its development agenda.
The announcement has drawn broad praise from business leaders and regional development advocates, who have long framed the expressway as a critical catalyst for long-term economic growth in the Cibao region. Ricardo Fondeur, a representative of the Association for the Development of Santiago (APEDI), emphasized that stakeholders are eager to see the feasibility process move forward as quickly as possible, adding that industry groups are confident the assessment will validate the project’s technical and economic viability.
Juan María García, another prominent regional development figure, expanded on the project’s expected benefits, noting that streamlined traffic flow and cut travel times between two of the region’s largest urban centers – Santiago and San Francisco de Macorís – will unlock broader economic activity across the entire central Cibao region. This area already contributes roughly 20% of the Dominican Republic’s total gross domestic product, making infrastructure improvements here a high-stakes investment for the entire country’s economic future.