Barahona. – The María Montez international airport, in Barahona, will become an important enclave of tourist and economic development in the Southwest with the new initiatives promoted by the Government, which include its expansion and renovation to operate as an air bridge in the initial phase of the tourist launch of Pedernales and as an aeronautical maintenance center for the Boeing company.
By participating as an exhibitor in the first edition of the tourism and attractions expo event “For the Love of Barahona,” the director of public relations of the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, journalist Luis José Chávez, affirmed that after 28 years of its inauguration that airport It will no longer be a white elephant because it will function as an aeronautical complex with a strong economic impact throughout the region.
Chávez, who represented the general director of Idac, Héctor Porcella, said that the administration of President Luis Abinader has reached an agreement with the company Aeropuertos Dominicanos (Aerodom) to adapt the airport terminal so that it can operate as an air bridge with Pedernales to receive the tourists who will be arriving at the new hotel projects in Cabo Rojo in the coming months.
“The Government and Aerodom anticipate that during the construction phase of the Cabo Rojo international airport, which will take 3 to 4 years, the María Montez airport will be able to receive tourists on international charter flights to be transferred in comfortable buses to the new destination of Pedernales. “a journey that should be a pleasant experience due to the multiple attractions that the south coast offers,” said Chávez.
He indicated that an authorized Aerodom source has confirmed that improvement works at the María Montez airport are beginning so that at the end of the year the first flights with international tourists can be received for the hotels in Cabo Rojo.
He estimated that with these operations a dynamism will begin, which will allow the creation of regular routes to the destination of Barahona itself, to the extent that new tourism projects and public and private investments are developed for the so-called Pearl of the South.
“Regarding Barahona’s tourist offer, we must hope that sooner rather than later the paralyzed Perla del Sur hotel and real estate development project will be redirected, which in addition to expanding the availability of rooms in the area, according to the original proposal , would also include a marina with 42 docks for yachts and boats of various sizes, as well as a convention center,” commented Chávez.
Boeing maintenance center
After noting that the project of the new air base that will be part of the Southern Command of the Air Force of the Dominican Republic, Fard, adjacent to the María Montés airport, is already advancing, formally initiated by President Abinader in September 2023, he said that the third important project in aviation in the same complex will be the installation of a Boeing aeronautical maintenance center, which contemplates an investment of 200 million dollars in its first ten years.
The investment, managed by the local firm Fts Holding Group, will generate between 1,500 and 2,000 direct jobs in its initial stage, although the number will continue to grow according to its managers, said the director of Public Relations of the Idac and past president of the Dominican Tourist Press Association.
Chávez also referred to the construction of the Granero del Sur airfield in San Juan de la Maguana, which, in his opinion, will also contribute to strengthening the tourist and productive potential of the Southern region.