The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources approved the environmental license for the development of the Punta Bergantin tourism project, in the province of Puerto Plata.

With the authorization of the Ministry of Environment, construction work will begin in August and includes the construction of nine hotels and 6,625 homes that will benefit tourism in the area of the Dominican Republic known as The Bride of the Atlantic.

Andrés Marranzini Grullón, executive director of the Punta Bergantin Project, explained through a press release that the environmental permit covers an area of ​​9.6 million square meters.

In addition, it excludes the use of infrastructure construction in the areas of wetlands, mangroves, dunes, swamps, ravines, and any other area of ​​environmental vulnerability within the scope of the project development.

Furthermore, The Punta Bergantín tourism project in Puerto Plata will have an innovation hub, an initiative that brings together the government, companies, academia, and civil society with the aim of stimulating human capital and providing the necessary infrastructure for future innovation ventures in the country.

“Everything that the Punta Bergantín innovation hub entails places the country on the path to competitiveness,” said the president of this non-profit association, Franklyn Holguín Haché.

He added that the country has the resources, the strategic location, and the human talent “to emerge as a small power in global innovation trends.” “We are oriented in that direction,” he said in a press release.

For his part, the vice president, Jonathan Bournigal Read, said that this initiative seeks to develop local technical capabilities and, in addition, turn the country into an attractive ecosystem for the realization of technological events, conferences, and investments by startups and large technology companies.

The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, launches the reconstruction of streets in Puerto Plata’s historic center by providing an investment of nearly 80 million pesos.

This project includes the reconstruction of the streets, sidewalks, and curbs of the municipality’s urban area. It will benefit the city’s residents and tourists, mainly cruise passengers who disembark at the tourist ports of Amber Cove and Taíno Bay.

Collado highlighted the investments and works delivered during his administration to strengthen Puerto Plata as a tourist destination. Additionally, he referred to those in the pipeline, including the rehabilitation of Sosúa Beach and the remodeling of the iconic Puerto Plata cable car.

“These interventions will mark a before and after in this entire historic urban area. Puerto Plata’s time has definitely arrived,” he said.

The Executive Committee for Infrastructures in Tourist Areas (Ceiztur) was in charge of the road project in San Felipe, which cost RD$79,855,074.95.

The sections involved correspond to Juan Escaño Avenue (Old Railway Track) and the extension of Calle Restauración (Connection of Avenida Juancho Escaño and Calle Caamaño).

It includes Antera Mota, Luis Espinosa, 30 De Marzo, Los Jazmines San Felipe, and Calle Aserradero streets.

In addition, 27 De Febrero Avenue, El Morro, and Cardenal Sancha Streets will be renovated.

Juan Escaño Avenue (Old Railway Track) will be included and extended by 751 meters, and 27 de Febrero in a section by 834 meters.

Meanwhile, El Morro Street will be renovated into a section 1,020 meters long, and Cardenal Sancha will be 934 meters long.

The project includes reconstructing 9,318 linear meters of containment and 17,256 square meters of the sidewalk and readjusting the tread layer of three road axes by applying a new 2″ asphalt concrete layer on the road.

The Teleferico (Puerto Plata Cable Car) will be closed for 18 to 24 months for remodeling and modernization, according to Vladimir Santana, a Cable Car Shop Owners Association representative.

He indicated that after meeting via Zoom with President Luis Abinader, the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, and the members of the Patronato del Teleférico, it was explained to them that the tourist destination would be “completely” rebuilt.

He said that the projected investment is US$20 million and that compensation for the time and losses was discussed during the dialogue, “the amount of which has not yet been established.”

According to Listin Diario, Santana did not specify the date the Government planned to close the Puerto Plata Cable Car.

He announced that there will be a meeting next Monday 10th June early in the morning at the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) offices, where details of what is proposed and how to mitigate the effects of the closure on people who depend on this vital tourist attraction will be addressed.

The Dominican Port Authority (APORDOM) announced that last Thursday, November 24, two Carnival Cruise Line ships arrived at the Amber Cove cruise terminal, located in Puerto Plata, where 9,450 cruise passengers disembarked.

“The Carnival Celebration touched Dominican land for the first time in history with 5,788 cruise passengers, where it shared the dock with the Carnival Freedom, which brought with it 3,662 more cruise passengers for a total of 9,450 people, contributing directly to the economy of our country,” the entity said in its social networks.