One rockslide after another.
SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic. - The representative of the company PROCISA, S.A., the contractor in charge of the reconstruction of the La Cumbre tourist highway which links Santiago with Puerto Plata, said the work has been halted since six months ago because of the Government’s debt with the company.
Rafael Medo, interviewed by newspaper Clave Digital, said the debt is RD$130 million.
The civil engineer said of the work’s total cost of RD$750 million, only RD$350 million have been paid.
The contractor, who’s in charge of the work since August 25, 2005, said he has removed his equipment because of what he called delays in payments, but affirmed that he remains in contact with the authorities.
Medo said he spoke about the situation with Public Works minister Victor Diaz Rúa two months ago, who had told him that there was money to resume the work.
Written by: juanb, 24 Jun 2009 9:29 AM
From: Dominican Republic
There's plenty of income from all the taxes we pay. There's just no money left to pay anything after all that money gets wasted. In the last 3 years the government' s debt has increased by more than $3,000,000,000US. Three billion dollars. Where did it go? Salaries, wasteful projects, and pockets, that's where.
Written by: xwill7, 24 Jun 2009 9:36 AM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
They better fix this road. I know alot of people that visit Puerto Plata but fly in through Santiago because the ticket price is less than Puerto Plata. I thought that tourism was going to be protected?
Written by: Sally, 24 Jun 2009 10:18 AM
From: Dominican Republic
I think the problem is in the amount of money being charged by the company to repair the road. Construction prices are astronomical. Maybe this is a wake up call for other companies to come up with a reasonable price for construction and the jobs will be awarded and completed with reasonable costs.
This is happening everywhere here. Construction costs are higher than in the Us or Canada! Corruption, it is truly ugly. Someone needs to grow some christmas trimmings and begin challenging these ridiculous costs in a time when minimum wage workers are earning less than 8,000 pesos a month. If you calculate all the ditch digger workers on these construction jobs, you can't come up with even a minuscule amount toward labor costs. Time for change.
From: Dominican Republic
No money to repair roads, no money to pay for electricity, no money to pay police and fire personnel a decent wage, no money to pay back international loans....yet every where you turn there's a tax....ITBS, 10% tip, bed tax.....a tax on the tax
The government spends money like a drunken housewife until there's no more. Sad leadership for such a beautiful country.
From: United States
Sally makes very good observations in theory. then again , Sally, i am sure you are familiar with terms such as politics, friends, connections, monopoly, family surnames, briefcases full of money, and so on, and so on. remember where we are.
Written by: xwill7, 25 Jun 2009 11:46 AM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
dont the construction companies hire illegals for cheap labor?
Written by: abc200, 25 Jun 2009 8:36 PM
From: United Kingdom, Dominican Republic
From: United States, Killeen, TX - Home of the 1st Cavalry
Sally;
You don't use underpaid illegals to operate heavy earth moving equipment. It just isn't done!
As far back as the 1960's the cost per mile of roadway in Colorado was One Million dollars. Tha t cpm has goe through the roof since then. i imagine the costs involved with mountainside stabilization, rebuilding a roadway destroyed by the earth moving out from under it, has escallated considerably over the years, even down here where the hourly wage is much, much cheaper.
I do, however, agree with you in that a better contractual awarding system would equate to cheaper construction costs over the long run. I'm sure that Highway Engineers ar NOT in the govrnment employe, because if they were, the contracts would have time limits and the usua preeventatives written into them against the contractors.
As long as th egovernment is corruption-driven, you must expect GROSS errors in judgement and efficiency.
TexasBill
From: United States, NJ
Bill :
I think what Sally is saying has a valid point Two different view point what you refer as illegal in the USA as oppose to what she says in DR . Haitians are consider illegal in DR just like the Mex are here. To be honest with you, they are in the construction business because they do it very cheap as compare to the Dominicans.
As far as road construction the private co are the ones in it as well as here. What i don't like is the unfair system of awarding the projects to their friends with out a bidding system and no definte time to complete the project.. All that should be stipulated at the start of the project and any lapse
time a fine should be imposed on them . As far as over pricing their construction i agree with Sally,
The job is never done the way it should be done ,no gvt.inspector at the sight on the daily basis.
When the contractors were working at the MTA-NYCTA,.we had our own engineers at the sight called (A/P) access & protection and that was the way it was.
From: United States, NJ
continue :
Bill:
i do agree with you as far as the cost escalating exponentialy In 1952 the DEGAN EXPRESS H,W. in THE BRONX 4 and 4 lanes cost 1 million /mile including all the over pass .
It had to be built with 18'' of pour concrete due to the proximity of the East River or Harlem River.
At that time President IKE had in mind to do in the USA the same he saw in Germany at a national scale, therefore funds were available to the States to do the job. All that was at the expense of the rairoads which were the lifeline of the country, and was subsides by the FED , for the purpose of transporting heavy goods as well as war materriel . It t was there to do the job no HW could do. This was also the rise of the special interest group in the USA. for the petro as fuel to run the autos that Ford and the other two were putting out . Also the cars were available after ww2 to any one providing he was productive , and banking expanded to the monster we now have..
From: United States, NJ
abc200:
Very good article on what used to be YUGOSLAVIA. Also very good comment on railroad transport
Am with you 100%.
What i can not understand is where the DR president getting RD $10 millions for an UNIVERSITY
in HAITI ,when those people are illiterates 90%. More should go into vocational rehabilitation so the DR citizens could take advantage of HAITIANS willing to work for cheap labor .
If there is money for Haiti there should be money for the Santiago-Puerto Plata high way and R/R,
linking EL CIBAO to the sea. It shows you, the Capitalinos are not so interested on these to keep
all the funding at the capital on useless projects such as METRO of non revenue producer to un-
employed people. The DR gvt wants to be so centralized that they have their priorities reversed.
I some times wonder if LF is for the DR as he is for HAITI. I guess some one mentioned in another forum he is the best president HAITI ever had.
From: United States, NJ
We must also remember that Puerto Plata and manzanillo with megga ports could be very easly
the CIBAO outlet to the sea and closer to EUROPE as well as to NORTH AMERICA,being up north of the ISLAND and ships would not have to go arround to the capital and spend extra fuel .It will not be to SANTO DOMINGO DE GUZMAN'S best interest, as it was when TRUJILLO was in power Therefore non profit subways at national expense with borrowed money had to be built at the capital to make it atractive enogh for tourism, as if that was not enogh more money had to be borrowed for the 2nd & 3rd line,but will not work.Punta Cana is self sustained and needs no subways. Subways are run with electric power of which the nation could not bragg about w/o paralleling it with power plants which they also failed to do. In the other hand diesel pulled freight trains as well as passanger trains could do the job from SANTIAGO to PTO PTA & MANZANILLO,w/o building additional power plants.Two PUNTA CAUCEDO are needed
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This is happening everywhere here. Construction costs are higher than in the Us or Canada! Corruption, it is truly ugly. Someone needs to grow some christmas trimmings and begin challenging these ridiculous costs in a time when minimum wage workers are earning less than 8,000 pesos a month. If you calculate all the ditch digger workers on these construction jobs, you can't come up with even a minuscule amount toward labor costs. Time for change.
The government spends money like a drunken housewife until there's no more. Sad leadership for such a beautiful country.
Everywhere in the World railway investment is taking place.
http://www.birn.eu.com/en/90/10/3418/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China
The state owes the people a good railway system.
S,
You don't use underpaid illegals to operate heavy earth moving equipment. It just isn't done!
As far back as the 1960's the cost per mile of roadway in Colorado was One Million dollars. Tha t cpm has goe through the roof since then. i imagine the costs involved with mountainside stabilization, rebuilding a roadway destroyed by the earth moving out from under it, has escallated considerably over the years, even down here where the hourly wage is much, much cheaper.
I do, however, agree with you in that a better contractual awarding system would equate to cheaper construction costs over the long run. I'm sure that Highway Engineers ar NOT in the govrnment employe, because if they were, the contracts would have time limits and the usua preeventatives written into them against the contractors.
As long as th egovernment is corruption-driven, you must expect GROSS errors in judgement and efficiency.
TexasBill
I think what Sally is saying has a valid point Two different view point what you refer as illegal in the USA as oppose to what she says in DR . Haitians are consider illegal in DR just like the Mex are here. To be honest with you, they are in the construction business because they do it very cheap as compare to the Dominicans.
As far as road construction the private co are the ones in it as well as here. What i don't like is the unfair system of awarding the projects to their friends with out a bidding system and no definte time to complete the project.. All that should be stipulated at the start of the project and any lapse
time a fine should be imposed on them . As far as over pricing their construction i agree with Sally,
The job is never done the way it should be done ,no gvt.inspector at the sight on the daily basis.
When the contractors were working at the MTA-NYCTA,.we had our own engineers at the sight called (A/P) access & protection and that was the way it was.
Bill:
i do agree with you as far as the cost escalating exponentialy In 1952 the DEGAN EXPRESS H,W. in THE BRONX 4 and 4 lanes cost 1 million /mile including all the over pass .
It had to be built with 18'' of pour concrete due to the proximity of the East River or Harlem River.
At that time President IKE had in mind to do in the USA the same he saw in Germany at a national scale, therefore funds were available to the States to do the job. All that was at the expense of the rairoads which were the lifeline of the country, and was subsides by the FED , for the purpose of transporting heavy goods as well as war materriel . It t was there to do the job no HW could do. This was also the rise of the special interest group in the USA. for the petro as fuel to run the autos that Ford and the other two were putting out . Also the cars were available after ww2 to any one providing he was productive , and banking expanded to the monster we now have..
Very good article on what used to be YUGOSLAVIA. Also very good comment on railroad transport
Am with you 100%.
What i can not understand is where the DR president getting RD $10 millions for an UNIVERSITY
in HAITI ,when those people are illiterates 90%. More should go into vocational rehabilitation so the DR citizens could take advantage of HAITIANS willing to work for cheap labor .
If there is money for Haiti there should be money for the Santiago-Puerto Plata high way and R/R,
linking EL CIBAO to the sea. It shows you, the Capitalinos are not so interested on these to keep
all the funding at the capital on useless projects such as METRO of non revenue producer to un-
employed people. The DR gvt wants to be so centralized that they have their priorities reversed.
I some times wonder if LF is for the DR as he is for HAITI. I guess some one mentioned in another forum he is the best president HAITI ever had.
the CIBAO outlet to the sea and closer to EUROPE as well as to NORTH AMERICA,being up north of the ISLAND and ships would not have to go arround to the capital and spend extra fuel .It will not be to SANTO DOMINGO DE GUZMAN'S best interest, as it was when TRUJILLO was in power Therefore non profit subways at national expense with borrowed money had to be built at the capital to make it atractive enogh for tourism, as if that was not enogh more money had to be borrowed for the 2nd & 3rd line,but will not work.Punta Cana is self sustained and needs no subways. Subways are run with electric power of which the nation could not bragg about w/o paralleling it with power plants which they also failed to do. In the other hand diesel pulled freight trains as well as passanger trains could do the job from SANTIAGO to PTO PTA & MANZANILLO,w/o building additional power plants.Two PUNTA CAUCEDO are needed