Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. – The Chamber of Deputies approved in a single reading the third amendment to the trust contract for the tourist development of the Pedernales province (Pro-Pedernales Trust).
The project had been placed on the agenda last Tuesday, but due to a lack of votes, it remained on the table. This Wednesday, the project was back on the agenda and featured modifications proposed by the Executive Power, in response to various observations made about a supposed use of protected land within the property established by the trust.
Despite the modifications proposed at the last moment by the Executive Power, the piece did not have the support of the opposition members of Congress, who mostly chose to abstain.
In the new amendment to the addendum, the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, ordered the modification of two clauses, the fourth and sixth, where he makes specific references to lands included in the trust assets and that protected areas are not included within these.
Among them is the fourth clause, which includes the protected area of Playa de Cabo Rojo-Pedernales, which was excluded from the trust’s land. Likewise, it repositioned a paragraph which establishes that no national park or protected area land would be included within the trust’s property.
According to a letter of motivation sent by Abinader, the new amendment contemplates the contribution of State-owned land on which the project will be developed.
It also indicated that it seeks to “strengthen the special tax regime of the project” for the purpose of generating jobs and promoting the competitiveness of local and foreign investment.
