In just three years, the Dominican State has paid approximately 80% of the investment of the road
The Dominican State has paid about 80% of the investment. It is clear that this contract, that provides $150 million for the construction of the route, still lasts 27 years more until it expires. At the end we will have paid 2,500 million dollars
, told Morales Cisneros.
About nine legislators of the Revolutionary Dominican Party (PRD), which belongs to the mainstream, submitted Monday to the House of Representatives a draft resolution, requesting that the contract which was signed between the Dominican State and the company CxA of the North East highway, licensing the Santo Domingo-Samana highway, be investigated.
The parliament members Juan José Morales Cisneros and Alexis Isaac Jiménez expressed at a press conference that in just three years the Dominican State has paid approximately 80% of the investment of the road, which is an equivalent to US$120 million.
Morales Cisneros said that this is the reason why they are asking the members of parliament to review that contract, which he described as extremely costly and detrimental to the country.
He indicated that he uses this road every week, therefore he can say that this more than a road, it is a municipal road. He said that they propose to ask for a modification of the agenda in the Lower House this Tuesday, due to the urgency of this problem, to include the resolution. It urges that this situation is clarified.
We can not allow that the Dominican State, the village, continues being ripped off. „We can not pay 432 Pesos to go to Samaná, and 507 Pesos to go to Las Terrenas, in a 22 kilometers distance
, he declared.
He recalled that businessmen from the tourist industry of Samana visited the Tourism Commission last week, to express their dissatisfaction with those high toll prices, as this caused a decrease in tourism in Samana.
Alexis Jiménez
On the same terms, the representative Alexis Jimenez added that this is a shadow toll that the State of the Dominican Republic is paying and those who are managing the mentioned route.
They should raise the price because we signed a contract where no one defended the interests of the State, a road that costs US$150 million, and where there is to pay US$2.500 million at the end of the expiration of the agreement. We are talking about the fact that we are paying monthly more than 50,000 US Dollars
, said the congressman Jimenez.
As for the reason of the toll, the legislator said that the investors of the road would like to increase the toll and if they want to do it again, it will be done because the Dominican State stated in the contract that there were going to pass 4,500 vehicles daily, if not, the State has to pay for those vehicles that fail to pass.
He added that at present only 2,000 vehicles pass, therefore the State has to pay for 2,500 vehicles that do not go along the above-mentioned route. This situation will continue because they (company) will go on increasing the payment of the tolls.
This Colombian company has already gained 80% of the investment, which they made, within 3 years
, told the Deputy Jiménez.