SANTO DOMINGO.- The Transit Reform Office (OPRET) director revealed on Tuesday that negotiations with international companies to build Santo Domingo’s second subway line are advanced.
Diandino Peña said the first stage of the Metro’s second line will span the 15 kilometers between Maximo Gomez avenue in the capital, to the subdivision Los Alcarrizos, in Santo Domingo West, and will cost around US$790 million spent by the private sector.
He said the companies, which he didn’t identify, have expressed an interest to build all three stages; the second from Maximo Gomez to the Santo Domingo East town San Isidro, and the third from Los Alcarrizos to north central city Santiago.
Peña said the company which will build the Metro lines will manage them, to guarantee the return on their investment. "We’re very advanced in the contracts and within 16 days we’ll know if the companies’ tenders are feasible, we’ll then send the contracts to Congress and announce when the works begin. The companies have said they don’t mind starting the work while the process in Congress concludes.”
The OPRET chief made the announcement during a meeting of representatives from the Latin American Metros and Subways Association.
From: United States, Yonkers, NY
Where is the money coming from for this? I'd rather see ths money spent to fix the roads and bridges around the country. Talk about misplaced priorities.
Written by: xwill7, 30 Jun 2009 12:54 PM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
If they wanted to they could do both projects at the same time platano
Written by: generoso, 30 Jun 2009 1:06 PM
From: United States, DR
Believe it or not.
If they can find a real private investors for this white elephant project it will be a miracle!
Written by: Eriliza, 30 Jun 2009 1:21 PM
From: United States, Boston, MA
Wow it's really nice to hear this! A second line for the Santo Domingo Metro would be great! The DR would be the first country in the Caribbean to have a subway of two or more so lines!
From: Dominican Republic, Parque Colon statue of Anacaona
this has scam written all over it .....private investors ?????
Written by: juanb, 30 Jun 2009 2:10 PM
From: Dominican Republic
Written by: Juango, 30 Jun 2009 2:19 PM
From: United States, far S. Florida (formerly Santo Domingo)
juanb, Great clip. Nuria should do a similar investigative report on Diandino Pena. His salary 4 years ago was <$50K DOP/year. He now own homes in Casa de Campo, Miami, and two in ritzy areas in "la capital". He lives very well indeed. Yes he has a good salary now, but not that good....Corruption is out of Control in the DR, all depts. Education, Hacienda, Intr. & Police, Agriculture, Tourism, lack of education allows this to happen in all Banana Republics. New Metro Lines are a money grab. No decent private investment will even approach, unless they are corrupt as well, and cut a dirty little contract with the government.
From: United States
our progress may be slow...but it is happening
From: Germany, Stuttgart
Wow.....this is amazing. Simply amazing. Will this new Metro line have the ability to teach Dominican children how to read or solve arithmetic problems? Or maybe this Metro will be able to keep the power on in most Dominican homes for a period of six consecutive hours....or better yet provide electricity to the homes that have none.....Or maybe this Metro will come with free meals and feed the masses living on a few pesos a day....This Metro will be fantastico! Bedazzle it and call it El Tren Magia.
Written by: xwill7, 30 Jun 2009 3:36 PM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
Negro,
The metro is good for everyone... It will reduce some traffic and move people by using less energy. Yes there are more issues but this is good if the connect Santiago to SD
Written by: THINK, 30 Jun 2009 4:50 PM
From: United States, SDQ -- Mia --NY
When we talk about investment, we should consider long -term and short -term. I believe in DR there are too many s/t projects need to done and they are all on the red-flags urgent things. Metro, yes, it is good idea but I do not see any urgent reasons to have it built now especially in this time. Unless commission/corruption/bribery involved.
Furthermore, I believe the government main responsibility is to take care of the majority of the people's life (which is the case in DR)., as to the metro, it is too fancy for DR now.
Written by: roger, 30 Jun 2009 6:05 PM
From: United States
WOW this is amazing! this is what i like about leonel.. he gets the jod done, something thats the others presidents cant do! lets see what nuria has to said about this, since she only focus on pld, but doesnt say a word about prd...she's a perredeista!
Written by: BASTA, 30 Jun 2009 6:31 PM
From: Dominican Republic, =Ghetto/Legalize Drugs
WOW this is amazing! this is what i like about leonel..I hope they arrest him soon before he finishes destroying our country! Sure and it costs us 25,000,000 a year for up keep. that.'s a lot of pencils and medicine.
From: United States
someone, and i will not use her name, as she gets incensed when people do, offers this boast
Wow it's really nice to hear this! A second line for the Santo Domingo Metro would be great! The DR would be the first country in the Caribbean to have a subway of two or more so lines!
before you break a rib or two beating your chest, have you ever thought that this might be because other political personages in the other countries are too smart to blow money on a multiple line subway system? i mean, if it was such a good idea, surely Puerto Rico, with far more crippling traffic problems, would have done it already. or, does Miss" Do Not Use My Name" remember the financial might of the USA, which stands behind PR? or the role of the US federal department of transportation in the development of roads and railways in that country. nope; they did not extend it , because it is a gross disaster, a money pit, and gives no bang for the buck.
From: United States
hey, if bragging rights are what this is about, why not jut build a space shuttle next, and train some astronauts. then we can trumpet to the world that we have the first people in space from this region. some people really lack a well rooted sense of priorities. we are having hell attracting investors to do real development here, because we cannot keep lights on for more than a few hours at a time, and people are boasting about locomotives. we performed at the bottom in the education surveys last year, number 129 out of 131 countries. infant mortality rates rival sub saharan africa. yet folks want more trains, which have to be SUBSIDISED at the rate of perhaps 40 million dollars a year to keep them on the tracks.(Diandino says 25 million, so i extrapolate to arrive at 40)
Written by: Trujillo, 1 Jul 2009 1:21 AM
From: Dominican Republic
What happened "economists"?
Written by: Juango, 1 Jul 2009 7:20 AM
From: United States, far S. Florida (formerly Santo Domingo)
dread, once again you are so correct. Regarding Dominican pride (thumping their chest), chaulk that up to her youth. Dont get into a pissing match. Metro is not warranted in the DR at this time in history. LF (ego) wishes Metro to be his legacy. In order for traffic to be alliviated in SD, people need to have an incentive to move out, leaving SD less populated. Build sustainable industries/job opportunities in more rural areas.
Written by: devin11, 1 Jul 2009 8:06 AM
From: United States, The Greatest City
The only rail routes that have ever broken even are Paris-Lyons and Tokyo-Osaka. All rail systems are heavily subsidized by their parent country. An adept political leader should always consider prioritizing the needs of the people. Is the metro more important than education, energy or clean water solutions? Bragging rights can be very expensive and not always worth the investment.
From: Dominican Republic, Parque Colon statue of Anacaona
think Concorde
Written by: BASTA, 1 Jul 2009 9:06 AM
From: Dominican Republic, =Ghetto/Legalize Drugs
Is the metro more important than education, energy or clean water solutions yes,yes,yes keep the people stupid so the will vote for me in 2020
Written by: xwill7, 1 Jul 2009 9:51 AM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
If DR is going to continue to develop more metro is needed...
From: United States
Go Metro line two, three and four. To hell with all those transportation sindicates that are constantly waging strikes and duping the population with extremely bad service and even worse fare rates.
From: Botswana, La reconnaissance est une lachete'
For Those of you who want to thump your chess about your Metro Line. I suggest you read Confession Of An Economic Hit Man, than you can understand what such a useless project is really about.
From: Germany, Stuttgart
So, Will, how does metro equate to Quisqueya's development? Please explain to me how a nation rises or falls on the back of a Metro. Things that move a country forward are solid infrastructure, education; foreign investment. Like Dread states, who wants to bring their factories and plants to a country that can't keep the electricity flowing? How can you construct a car with the lights out? How can you test the computer systems a factory is producing with no electricity? You can't. That's why this is such a waste of good pesos. This is not development. This is smoke and mirrors. A distraction. It's meant to give the illusion of progression simply to placate the masses who continue to be fooled. Rule one to maintaining absolute power....keep your people ignorant. An uneducated mind is so much easier to control and so easily distracted by trinkets like the Tren Magia.
From: Germany, Stuttgart
Actually this could be a capitalistic opportunity.....I'm thinking of producing t-shirts...all metro themed....I wonder how many I would sell. They'll have pictures of the Magic Train on the front and on the back there will be catchy phrases like...."Got Metro?" ....or "I'm with Metro" I also like "Todo por El Tren Magia!" That one will be the bedazzled shirt of course. Or how about "We have two trains? How many does your underdeveloped country have?" .....ridiculo.....
Written by: roger, 1 Jul 2009 6:08 PM
From: United States
the dominican news papers are saying that half of the salaries goes to transportations and gas! how much do you pay t from santiago to santo domingo ? its like new york, if there wasnt a metro people would be working for nothing! this is the system leonel wants, and thats what i like about this metro!
Written by: abc200, 2 Jul 2009 11:01 AM
From: United Kingdom, Dominican Republic
Metro will be great!
S.
From: United States
i am glad to see that the sane minds have weighed in on this issue with great, lucid argumants. thanks Juango, Devin, Negro De La Bachata, and others. i am a little weary of people who say that the Metro serves the 3 million people of Santo Domingo, and so is a great public investment. please guys, remember the two little words CATCHMENT AREA. in any study of public transportation, and trains in particular, they are not considered to serve people who do not live in walking distance from the stops. walking distance, for purposes of analysis, is considered to be one half of a mile. trains are rigid, and move along a fixed line, as opposed to carritos, which are more accomodative of passengers wishes. as to this crackpot idea that private investors are going to pony up a billion dollars to invest in a sure-lose venture.. guys witha billion did not get it by buying into ventures that have to be supported by outside players, like government subsidies. not in a third world country.
From: United States
in basic feasibility studies, one elementary tool is what is called PEST analysis. the P stands for POLITICAL. investors always consider what will happen if there is a major paradigm shift in government philosophy, such as nationalisation of assets. guys with ships and planes can fill the gas tanks and bugger off to Nassau. guys with trains are dead in the water. they cannot put the rails, cars, and stations in a knapsack and head off to the wild blue yonder, seeking greener pastures. please guys, get real! and, ABC, can you elaborate on why it will be "great"? even though it is taking away millions of dollars per year in amortization charges, depreciation, farebox losses, subsidies, and opportunity costs? Trujillo, if you want to know where the economists are, just keep reading; some might show up sooner than you think.
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If they can find a real private investors for this white elephant project it will be a miracle!
Don't believe me? Check this out:
http://grupomillenium.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post.html
The metro is good for everyone... It will reduce some traffic and move people by using less energy. Yes there are more issues but this is good if the connect Santiago to SD
Furthermore, I believe the government main responsibility is to take care of the majority of the people's life (which is the case in DR)., as to the metro, it is too fancy for DR now.
Wow it's really nice to hear this! A second line for the Santo Domingo Metro would be great! The DR would be the first country in the Caribbean to have a subway of two or more so lines!
before you break a rib or two beating your chest, have you ever thought that this might be because other political personages in the other countries are too smart to blow money on a multiple line subway system? i mean, if it was such a good idea, surely Puerto Rico, with far more crippling traffic problems, would have done it already. or, does Miss" Do Not Use My Name" remember the financial might of the USA, which stands behind PR? or the role of the US federal department of transportation in the development of roads and railways in that country. nope; they did not extend it , because it is a gross disaster, a money pit, and gives no bang for the buck.
S.