The Ministry of the Presidency presented a strategic project aimed at strengthening territorial planning, ordering the country’s growth, and consolidating a more resilient and sustainable development model in the Dominican Republic.
The initiative, funded by the World Bank with US$200 million, promotes a structural transformation agenda focused on land management, risk management, and the use of strategic information, as a basis for improving the quality of public investment, reducing vulnerabilities, and providing greater predictability to development.
During the launch event, the Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, highlighted that this initiative marks a change of approach in public management, placing territorial planning at the center of the development model.
“The country cannot continue to grow with its back to the territory or reacting late to risks. This is an agenda to anticipate, plan better and ensure a more solid and sustainable development,” said the minister.
Furthermore, he emphasized that this initiative responds to the need to structurally strengthen the State’s capacity to manage the territory. “Strengthening the resilience of the territory is not just a technical challenge, it is a priority for the country’s development. This project seeks to order growth, improve decision-making with reliable information, and strengthen institutional capacities to manage risk more effectively,” Paliza stated.
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The initiative is articulated with the institutional advances achieved in recent years, including Law 368-22 on Territorial Planning, Land Use and Human Settlements and Law 345-22 on Unique Planning Regions, which establish a modern basis for improving territorial coordination and guiding the country’s development.
The World Bank’s Resident Representative in the Dominican Republic, Carolina Rendón, valued the initiative and highlighted its importance for strengthening evidence-based territorial planning.
“This project will strengthen the country’s ability to anticipate risks and guide its development based on reliable information, promoting more efficient and sustainable territorial planning,” Rendón said.
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The project contemplates interventions in territorial planning, modernization of geospatial information, risk management and resilient infrastructure, allowing to strengthen the State’s capacity to make informed decisions and reduce the population’s exposure.
In terms of infrastructure, 65 kilometers of critical roads will be intervened under resilient standards, directly benefiting more than 300,000 people, incorporating technical criteria that ensure their operation in the face of climatic events and improve territorial connectivity.
Furthermore, planning instruments will be strengthened, allowing for the guidance of urban and productive growth under criteria of sustainability, security, and competitiveness, with coverage for more than 80% of the national population.
The Vice Minister of Territorial Planning and Development of the Ministry of the Presidency, Domingo Matías, highlighted that this initiative will allow the consolidation of a new planning culture in the country.
“Territorial resilience involves better planning of our cities and territories, reducing vulnerabilities and guiding economic growth with criteria of sustainability, security and territorial balance,” Matías pointed out.
As part of this agenda, risk management will be integrated into public planning, through the development of strategic information on threats, vulnerability, and exposure, applied to key sectors such as tourism, infrastructure, housing, agriculture, energy, water, and education.
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A fundamental component will be the modernization of the country’s geospatial information, through the expansion of the national geodetic network and the generation of new cartography with LiDAR technology, which will allow for improved planning, avoid occupations in high-risk areas, and raise the quality of public and private decisions.
The Government highlighted that this initiative is integrated into the strategic vision Meta RD 2036, which seeks to double the size of the Dominican economy on more solid bases, with greater territorial balance, productivity, and climate resilience.
The event also included the participation of the FAO representative in the country, Rodrigo Antonio Castañeda; the president of the Municipal League, Víctor D’ Azua; the president of the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (FEDOMU), Nelson Núñez; the head of cooperation of the European Union, Melvin Asin; and the director of the National Cadastre, Héctor Pérez Mirambeaux.
