Garbage dump row uncorks the smell of big money

Santo Domingo.- The push for control of the Duquesa landfill has uncorked the smell of big money when the Santo Domingo North City Council (ASDN) took it over on a contract dispute, stoking fears of the return of high heaps of festering garbage throughout the Dominican capital.

The US$13.5 million contract dispute over the shares in Duquesa pits the company Recicladoras de Plasticos Dominicanos (Repdsa), with the contractor Lajun Corporation, while the ASDN claims breach of contract.

Also in the fray is the Metro Group, headed by Joseph Asilis, who says they had also acquired Duquesa’s shares, and vowed to defend their rights.

And while the conflict will be at the center of a hearing in Arbitration Court slated for 9am today, the Environment Ministry has already warned it would intervene to avert a major environmental disaster.