Dominican President Announces Building of $103 Million Aqueduct in Higuey

Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez announced last week the construction of a $103 million aqueduct in eastern province of Higuey, according to information posted on the government´s website.

The aqueduct will provide potable water services to Higuey city (population 150,000) and nearly 35,000 other hotel rooms in the tourist town of Bavaro, Victor Diaz, director of the country´s state water utility Inapa pointed out.

"We are now studying the aqueduct´s technical aspects, and we expect it to be built by 2007," Diaz said.

The aqueduct is expected to have a maximum flow capacity of 120 cubic meters a minute and will be operated by Inapa, he added.

Funding for the project will be directed towards the Dominican Republic as part of the San Jose agreement, a cooperation mechanism signed by Central American and Caribbean countries to promote social and economic development in the region.

The announcement was made during an energy summit held in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.