Santo Domingo — The Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic has definitively closed the legal case surrounding the controversial Bávaro International Airport project, issuing a landmark ruling that halts its development and upholds previous judicial decisions.
In its 325-page judgment (ruling TC/0496/25), the Court rejected appeals filed by the Aeropuerto Internacional de Bávaro (AIB) consortium, confirming earlier rulings by the Supreme Court of Justice and validating the actions of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC).
The Court found that AIB’s application for airport approval was submitted to the Airport Commission—an entity without legal authority to grant such permissions—instead of to IDAC, which holds that jurisdiction. Additionally, the ruling determined that Decree 270-20, which sought to support the project, circumvented required competitive bidding processes under public-private partnership and procurement laws.
AIB’s constitutional claims, which included alleged violations of due process, impartiality, and the absence of a public hearing, were dismissed as either baseless or inadmissible. The Court noted that the consortium failed to request a public hearing or raise timely objections during the proceedings. It also ruled that third-party interventions in the case did not infringe upon the company’s legal rights.
Though Justices Alba Luisa Beard Marcos and José Alejandro Vargas Guerrero issued dissenting opinions advocating for a constitutional review, the majority upheld the procedural violations as decisive grounds for dismissal.
This ruling sets a critical precedent for future infrastructure development in the country, reinforcing the importance of legal transparency, regulatory compliance, and institutional oversight. It confirms that no public-use airport in the Dominican Republic may be approved or built outside the established legal and technical framework.
