Dominican Gov. to spend US$150.0M to convert slums

Santo Domingo.- Fresh from a successful relocation of the residents of the riverside slum La  Barquita to the newly-built subdivision La Nueva Barquita, the head of the Urban Development Project on Wednesday announced that the Government will invest US$150.0 million to redevelop the barrios Los Guandules and La Ciénaga (Domingo Savio), expected to be finished  in three years (2020).

José Miguel González Cuadra called Domingo Savio “an ambitious project for president Danilo Medina’s administration and that, like La Barquita, will be displayed as housing solutions and alternative and urban improvement for the inhabitants of the sectors of Los Guandules and Cienega.”

“There are 43,000 families who will benefit from the Domingo Savio project, which have been under census and located, who will feel as close as their lives will take a new turn and will make a radical change, whether they remain in their neighborhoods or are relocated,” González said interviewed by the Corripio media group.

He said 1,200 homes will be built along the 3 kilometer-long span, in the sectors between La 17 and Duarte bridges, on Caamaño Av. (El Puerto).

“What this means, is that the displaced people of Domingo Savio will have the option of going to La Nueva Barquita or stay in their sectors where they have been living for decades,” said the business leader and executive of the Grupo Gonzalez Cuadra.

“We want to make the residents of the communities located in the project understand that they can be assured that they will be relocated and urbanized,” added González, accompanied by Domingo Savio project coordinator Patricia Cuevas, community liaison Edward Figueroa (Padre Macoby) and Guillermo Milan, in charge of blueprints.