Contractors urge Congress to settled decades-old state debts for public works

Santo Domingo.- More than 100 small and medium-sized contractors in the engineering and construction sector appeared before the National Congress to demand the settlement of long-overdue state debts for public works completed decades ago, some dating back to the 1990s. The professionals, mostly members of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA), support a legislative proposal aimed at creating an exceptional legal mechanism to allow the Ministry of Finance and Economy to authorize payments that have been recognized by the State but remain unpaid due to accumulated bureaucratic obstacles.

During a session lasting more than two hours, the Senate’s Permanent Commission on Public Works heard testimony from a delegation of over 30 contractors, who detailed the technical, financial, and personal consequences of these debts on their businesses and families. The projects in question include roads, schools, water systems, and other community infrastructure that were completed, received, and are currently in operation, many of them executed under emergency conditions or at the request of authorities, but never formally processed for payment.

Contractors emphasized the human cost of the delays, noting that more than 20 engineers have died without receiving compensation for their work, leaving unresolved claims to their families. After reviewing the arguments, the Public Works Commission issued a favorable report on the initiative, submitted by Duarte province Senator Franklin Romero. Proponents stressed that the proposal seeks transparency and legal certainty through case-by-case verification, aiming to close a longstanding historical debt and provide justice to professionals who have waited decades for payment.