Government Announces Second Metro Line for Santo Domingo

President Leonel Fernández announced that by the end of this year the government will be beginning the commercial bidding process for the construction of the second Metro line in Santo Domingo.

“We´re seeking to strengthen all our institutions and to create the conditions for a more modern constitution, one that is in keeping with modern times,”

The president said French, Spanish and business people from other European countries are interested in the tender for the construction of the second Metro line which is expected to get underway in January or February, 2009, according to the Presidential Office of Information, Press and Publicity.

The president made the announcement at a meeting with the editors of the Economist newspaper with whom he was meeting to exchange ideas about the economic process in the Dominican Republic and the world.

He explained that the Dominican Republic is changing its economic model as it searches for alternatives to promote development and economic growth, citing the systematization of the bidding process for the construction of big building projects.

He announced that soon the DR will be undertaking several large construction projects, worth $3 billion dollars, using this bidding model. Brazilian companies have shown interest in these projects which include building bridges and electrical systems infrastructure.

Fernández said he is certain the Dominican Republic is on the path to institutional democratic and constitutional reform that will prove to be a true democratic revolution in the county.

“We´re seeking to strengthen all our institutions and to create the conditions for a more modern constitution, one that is in keeping with modern times,” said Fernández.

He added the legislators elected in the last elections were sufficiently capable of understanding the reform measures recently sent to the National Congress for approval. He said he was optimistic that they would approve this project.

The president spoke about the difficult situation in Haiti and pointed out that the international community had apparently forgotten about this nation although now, as a result of the recent devastating hurricanes to hit the area, the world seems to have turned their attention to this Caribbean nation once again.

The Dominican leader stated clearly that he did not fear that the recent financial crisis in the United States would negatively affect his country´s economy.

He pointed out that the most recent storms have left Haiti bankrupt, in addition to the difficult political situation it has been experiencing with Haitian President René Préval having to wait months without a Prime Minister for his government to begin functioning.

Fernández said that, for the past several days, he´d been working on a plan to develop programs that will help activate the Haitian economy.

These plans, he explained, include investment in infrastructure that can accelerate Haiti´s economic growth process.

The Dominican leader stated clearly that he did not fear that the recent financial crisis in the United States would negatively affect his country´s economy.

. He said the worst hurricane had already hit and although the Dominican Republic faces significant challenges with the rise in oil and food price, he points to the drop in inflation and says the worst is over.

Nevertheless, he cautioned that the country remains attentive to the constant changes facing humanity.

In his opinion, one of the factors that has helped his country through the crisis up to now is that they are producing enough of their own food to feed their population.

Present at the conversation with the editors of The Economist were the Dominican First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, Presidential Minister César Pina Toribio, Presidential Administrative Minister Luis Manuel Bonetti and the Director of the Presidential Commission for the Millennium Objectives, John Gagain.