Above: Engineer Diandino Peña

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The government of the Dominican Republic has completed technical and economic feasibility studies of a proposed rail link between the capital Santo Domingo and the northern Cibao region.

The announcement was made by engineer Diandino Peña, who is the director of the Presidential Office for the Reorganization of Transportation. Peña was speaking on the country’s Channel 5.

The studies were made by a French company.

In the first phase of the proposed project, a freight and passenger train would start in Los Alcarizzos, with stations in Villa Altagracia, Piedra Blanca, Bonao, La Vega and Santiago.

The system would be marked by a corridor of industrial parks along the route, where employers would have the opportunity to invest and transport their goods.

“This project is where the true and authentic development of the Dominican Republic takes root,” he said, “because it will be supported in the industrial sector.”

It is the latest in a wave of infrastructure projects in the country, from new housing developments and highways to the expansion of the Metro in Santo Domingo.