In a formal gathering with business leaders and local government officials in Puerto Plata, the Dominican government has launched plans for a transformative infrastructure project: the Amber Highway, a development framed as a cornerstone initiative to bridge the Cibao interior region and the country’s popular Atlantic Coast.
Leading the presentation, José Ignacio Paliza, Minister of the Presidency, outlined the massive scope of the project, which carries a total price tag of 32 billion Dominican pesos. Paliza emphasized that the highway is projected to become a major catalyst for expanded private investment, growing tourism arrivals, and increased employment opportunities across the entire northern region of the country.
Hostos Rizik, Director General of the RD Vial Trust, which oversees national road infrastructure projects, detailed the engineering and functional specifications of the four-lane expressway. Once complete, the highway will cut travel time between Santiago de los Caballeros, the economic heart of the Cibao region, and the coastal tourism hub of Puerto Plata by roughly 60 minutes. It is designed to accommodate an annual traffic volume of more than 3.5 million vehicles, and incorporates modern infrastructure features including multiple tunnels and grade-separated express interchanges to streamline traffic flow.
The full construction phase is scheduled to take 30 months, following the conclusion of an eight-month public bidding process that will select the project contractor. Pre-construction preparations, including environmental impact assessments and final adjustments to the highway’s alignment, are already underway, even as the broad route of the 32.7-kilometer corridor has been locked in. The overall timeline targets the start of construction for August 2026.
According to government projections, the Amber Highway will generate approximately 6,800 direct and indirect jobs during its construction phase. Beyond job creation, the project is expected to strengthen key regional economic sectors: tourism, logistics, manufacturing, and agriculture, by reducing transport costs and improving access to markets and visitor destinations.
The highway’s route begins at the Northern Ring Road (Circunvalación Norte) in Santiago, then cuts across the rugged Sierra Septentrional mountain range. To navigate this challenging terrain, engineers have planned two major tunnels with a combined length of 2.5 kilometers — one measuring 1.8 kilometers and a second spanning 700 meters. After crossing the mountain range, the route descends onto the Atlantic coastal plains, ending at the Gran Parada intersection, where it will provide direct, high-speed access to Puerto Plata and the popular coastal resort towns of Sosúa and Cabarete.
Local business and tourism stakeholders in Puerto Plata have voiced strong, unified support for the initiative, describing the highway as a transformational development that the province has awaited for decades.