New Hotel, Travel Seaport Open in Puerto Plata

Dominican President Luis Abinader led the inauguration of the new tourist and cargo terminal Taíno Bay, with an investment of US$80 million in the first stage, in a public-private partnership.

The president also attended the reinauguration of the Senator Hotel in the municipal district of Maimón and listened to the investors of the project The Ocean Club, Luxury Collection Resort, of the Marriott chain, in the municipality of Sosúa. The governor also presided over the ceremony of the arrival of the first cruise ship, the MSC Seashore at the new port with 1,700 tourists from Miami, United States.

The construction of the multipurpose port, which began in January 2019, will generate 1,500 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs and will bring the arrival of more than 700,000 cruise passengers to the country by 2022, according to Mauricio Hamui, CEO of the ITM company.

Abinader informed that in support of this tourist pole, he announced that next year the Ministry of Tourism, in a public-private alliance, will be allocating some 150 million pesos for the historic zone of Puerto Plata.

The new port of Taino Bay has three berths, a passenger reception center with a capacity to accommodate 14,000 cruise passengers simultaneously. This terminal will generate some 1,500 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs.

The President informed that the country will be receiving the most important international cruise companies, such as Royal Caribbean Cruises, Virgin Voyages, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, TUI Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

The CEO of ITM and Taíno Bay, Mauricio Hamui, described the port as a great work of infrastructure where docks, landfills, dredging and piles were made at a depth of more than 40 meters in record time.

By resolution number 055B-2021, the city council of San Felipe de Puerto Plata declared the 15th of December as a working municipal holiday, due to the arrival of the first transatlantic liner of the company Puerto Plata Investment (Taino Bay terminal).

During the reopening of the Senator Hotel, the president of the hotel chain, José María Rossell, said that the reopening speaks of the confidence placed in this tourist destination. However, he said that in order to boost the arrival of foreign tourists, it is necessary to work with tour operators so that more flights arrive to this tourist destination.

He recalled that when he acquired the building, they made a total investment of 100 million dollars; 40 million in remodeling and 60 million for the purchase. During the activities carried out, the President expressed his joy for the trust placed in him by the businessmen and said that he estimates new investments in the industrial sector at $80 billion.