Barahona, Dominican Republic.- President Leonel Fernandez broke ground yesterday for the construction of the hydroelectric dam at  Monte Grande and other collateral works, designed to provide water for inhabitants and farmers of the southern provinces Independencia, Bahoruco and Barahona, to be built at a cost of RD$370 million.

Fernandez, speaking in Barahona’s Malecon, called it a transcendental work which the region’s inhabitants have been demanding for decades.

National Hydraulic Resources Institute (Indrhi) director Frank Rodriguez said the project for the new dam will provide water to irrigate more than 26,000 hectares, and includes the reconstruction of the dam at Sabana Yegua, in nearby Azua.