Dominican Congress approves US$615 million in loans in under 24 hours

Santo Domingo.- With remarkable speed, the Dominican Republic’s National Congress cleared three government loan agreements totaling US$615 million, immediately after enacting the new Penal Code.

The Senate signed off on the loans Thursday, mirroring the lower chamber’s unanimous backing in the early morning hours.

The largest credit line, US$380 million from the Inter-American Development Bank, will fund the Universal Sanitation Program in coastal and tourist cities. Administered by the National Institute of Potable Water and Sewerage (INAPA), it aims to expand sewage coverage and boost operational efficiency in La Romana, San Pedro de Macorís and Higüey.

A second US$200 million IDB loan will cover engineering designs, technical and economic feasibility studies for climate-resilient bridge rehabilitation and reconstruction. It also includes funding for monitoring equipment and digital inventory tools to manage bridge infrastructure against natural disasters.

Finally, a US$35 million agreement with the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) will finance the expansion of Santo Domingo’s saline-barrier aqueduct, overseen by the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (CAASD).

President Luis Abinader, citing global interest-rate shifts and U.S. policy changes, acknowledged a slowdown in national growth but defended the government’s strategy. “Despite reduced expansion, and the public feeling it, these measures respond to international circumstances,” he said Monday on the program La Semanal.