标签： Dominican Republic

In a major push to strengthen coastal infrastructure and fuel growth in two key Dominican economic sectors — tourism and commercial fishing — the Dominican Port Authority (APORDOM) has rolled out a comprehensive nationwide preventive maintenance program for public tourist and fishing docks across the country. Designed to address longstanding infrastructure wear while proactively preventing future deterioration, the initiative targets three core goals: upgrading aging port facilities, lifting national maritime safety standards, and creating more stable, supportive conditions for tourism activity and coastal economic development. Unlike reactive repair projects that respond to failures after they occur, this program centers on early, tailored intervention. Every dock included in the scheme undergoes a full technical inspection first, allowing crews to develop custom maintenance plans that align with each facility’s unique age, usage patterns, and structural needs. This personalized approach not only preserves the docks’ current operational capacity, but also extends the overall service lifespan of the public infrastructure, delivering greater long-term value for public investment. On-the-ground work covers a range of critical upgrades to improve safety and functionality. Technical crews are applying industrial-grade anti-corrosion and waterproofing treatments to shield structural components from saltwater damage, a leading cause of dock deterioration in tropical coastal environments. They are also replacing aged, rotted wooden decking that poses tripping and injury hazards, installing and repairing outdated lighting systems to enable safe operations after dark, and performing full maintenance on mooring cleats and other vessel docking equipment to ensure stable, secure berthing for small fishing boats and tourist vessels alike. As of the latest update, maintenance work has already been fully completed at six high-traffic coastal sites: the docks of Palenque, Cabo Rojo, Miches (La Yeguada), Boca de Yuma, and Isla Saona (Catuano), in addition to the key Boca de Yuma breakwater. Work is currently progressing on schedule at the Sánchez dock, with additional sites scheduled for upgrades in the coming phases of the program. Juan Miguel de los Santos, Engineering Director for APORDOM, explained that the preventive model is central to the program’s mission. By addressing minor wear and damage before it escalates into costly structural failure, the authority can reduce long-term maintenance expenses while delivering immediate improvements to safety and operational efficiency. The upgrades will benefit a wide range of stakeholders, from small-scale commercial fishermen and private maritime operators to domestic and international tourists visiting the Dominican Republic’s popular coastal destinations, and the thousands of local residents who rely on tourism and fishing for employment in coastal communities across the nation.

Santo Domingo – One of the Dominican Republic’s main opposition political groups, People’s Force (Fuerza del Pueblo), has sounded the alarm over mounting vulnerabilities in the country’s economy, arguing that existing monetary policy strategies are amplifying financial strain for ordinary households and small-scale enterprises across the nation.

In his first public address since taking office as the party’s newly designated Secretary of Economic Affairs, leading economist Haivanjoe Ng Cortiñas outlined a series of red flags pulled from official Central Bank data covering the period up to July 15, 2026. His analysis points to persistent inflationary momentum, a far steeper contraction in public cash circulation than historical seasonal trends, and unrelenting growth in the Central Bank’s quasi-fiscal debt obligations.

According to Ng Cortiñas’ calculations, cumulative inflation for 2026 has already hit 5.7%, while food-specific inflation has climbed even higher to 7%. Both metrics land well above the 3% to 5% target range the Central Bank has publicly committed to maintaining. The food inflation figure is particularly concerning, he emphasized, because low-income Dominican households dedicate a far larger share of their total monthly income to purchasing basic food staples, meaning rising grocery costs erode their purchasing power at a disproportionate rate.

Beyond rising prices, the economist highlighted a sharp contraction in liquid cash available to the public. Between December 2025 and mid-July 2026, cash in circulation dropped by 8.72%. In comparison, typical seasonal contractions over the same period in previous years have hovered around 5%. This larger-than-usual pullback, Ng Cortiñas explained, has created a far tighter liquidity environment that hits the most vulnerable segments of the economy hardest: informal sector workers, small and micro businesses, and working-class households that almost exclusively rely on cash for daily transactions.

Ng Cortiñas also leveled criticism at the ongoing expansion of the Central Bank’s quasi-fiscal debt, noting that the outstanding value of the bank’s certificates and short-term notes has grown by 6.8% in the first seven months of 2026 alone. He argued that the mounting interest payments tied to this debt ultimately become a fiscal burden for Dominican taxpayers, while the primary benefits flow to large financial institutions that hold the majority of these securities.

Finally, the economist questioned the recent 7.57% appreciation of the Dominican peso against the U.S. dollar. While a stronger peso does lower costs for companies importing goods into the country, it erodes the domestic value of the billions in dollar-denominated remittances sent home by Dominicans living abroad. It also puts local exporters and the country’s key tourism sector at a competitive disadvantage, as both groups generate the vast majority of their revenue in U.S. dollars.

In a major milestone for Dominican Republic’s aviation and tourism sectors, Puerto Plata’s Gregorio Luperón International Airport has earned its fourth Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award, securing a ranking among the top regional airports serving up to two million annual departing passengers across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The official award presentation took place at a ceremony attended by key stakeholders, including delegates from the Airports Council International for Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC) and French Ambassador Sonia Barbry. VINCI Airports Chief Executive Officer Rémi Maumon de Longevialle handed the honor to José Ignacio Paliza, the Dominican Minister of the Presidency, marking a formal recognition of the airport’s consistent service excellence.

Unlike many industry awards that rely on subjective judging, this distinction is rooted entirely in independent, anonymous passenger surveys collected through ACI’s global ASQ program. Widely regarded as one of the aviation sector’s most trusted and authoritative benchmarks for customer experience, the ASQ framework measures traveler satisfaction across dozens of service touchpoints, from check-in and security to terminal amenities and overall travel flow.

In a statement following the ceremony, VINCI Airports emphasized that the repeat award is a direct reflection of sustained, collaborative work across multiple groups. Aerodom, the Dominican Republic’s leading airport operator, national government authorities, and the entire on-site airport community have worked in lockstep to upgrade service standards, refine traveler experiences, and lay a stronger foundation for the country’s fast-growing tourism and aviation industries. This fourth win confirms that Gregorio Luperón International Airport’s commitment to quality is not a one-time effort, but an embedded part of its operations that benefits both leisure and business travelers visiting the Dominican Republic.