President Luis Abinader began yesterday the second stage of the Tourism Promotion Program of the city of Colonial Santo Domingo, during an activity that included a tour of the various places in this historic area.
“We are carrying out many projects that the country needs for economic recovery, the time has come for the Colonial City.”
The president assured that together with the Ministry of Tourism and the City Hall of the National District “we will make it the best colonial city in all of Latin America.”
The project is expected to run for six years, with US $ 90 million in financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), an entity that also paid US $ 30 million that were used in the first stage.
It is carried out by the Ministry of Tourism, in coordination with the City Hall of the National District and the Ministry of Culture, to give continuity to the rehabilitation of the city, both in its cultural and tourist aspects, as well as economic and urban. the.
President Abinader was accompanied by tourism ministers David Collado; of Culture, Carmen Heredia, and the administrative officer of the presidency José Ignacio Paliza, as well as the mayor of the national district, Carolina Mejía.
Also by the Director of Police, Major General Edward Sánchez; the director of the Specialized Tourist Security Corps (Cestur), General Juan Torres Robiou; the president of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (Asonahores), Rafael Blanco, and the IDB representative in the country Miguel Coronado.
“Today begins the renaissance of the colonial city under the leadership of President Abinadef’s government,” Collado said, stressing the impetus given to tourism and the transparency with which the project is managed through the IDB.
Before the official ceremony began, President Abinader visited the Borgellá Palace, where he held a private meeting and then began the tour of the Ozama Fortress.
Tour
Moving in a golf cart, the president continued the tour with the inauguration of the Royal Shipyard Museum where the president received the keys to the “SEA Museum”, whose museography is focused on navigation, maritime trade and underwater archaeological discoveries. .
The next stop was on Las Mercedes Street, on the corner of Hostos, where the president painted the first house in a symbolic way, as part of the “Pintando tu Ciudad” Home Improvement Program, which aims to improve housing conditions in the neighborhoods. city.Northern area of the colonial city.
The Saviñón building, on Calle del Conde, on the corner of José Reyes, was the last point of the tour where the permanent exhibition “Zona Colonial Viva” was presented.
Areas of application of the project
The program includes the revitalization of heritage buildings and public spaces in the colonial city. The San Francisco Monastery will be intervened; The Ribera del Ozama, the Museo del Alcázar de Colón, the Museo de las Casas Reales, the museography of the City of Santo Domingo and the Cathedral Museum, as well as the wiring will be buried. $ 676 million was also proposed to improve the homes and living conditions of residents in the northern part of the colonial city.