A bill was submitted to the Senate on Wednesday to elevate Verón-Punta Cana, the thriving tourist area in the province of La Altagracia, which produces more than any other province, to the level of a municipality, but remains a municipal district.
According to publication Free NewspaperIf the proposal made by Senator Rafael Barón Duluc from Altagracia is approved, the demarcation will be called the Verón-Bávaro-Punta Cana Tourist Municipality, made up of the Juanillo section and its Cabo Engaño, La Salina, La Cuevita and Suero areas; and the El Salado section, made up of Bávaro, Cortecito, Cabeza de Toro, Arena Gorda, Macao and Uvero Alto, as stated in Article 4 of the legislative proposal.
In his turn, the legislator motivated the project by indicating that this territory has more than 10 bank branches, health centers focused on tourists, high schools, schools, energy generators, supermarkets, gas stations and the Punta Cana International Airport, which is the busiest in the country with more than 4.5 million tourists a year.
He also cited data from the 2022 Census, which shows that Verón-Punta Cana has a population of 138,919 inhabitants, surpassing 138 of the 158 municipalities in the national territory.
Barón Duluc, former mayor of Higüey, acknowledged that if the project were to materialize, it would reduce the revenues of the main municipality, so he suggested that the Government should compensate for this deficit with the national budget.
The document indicates that Verón-Punta Cana contributes 40% of the income received by Higüey, obtained from the construction of large tourism, commercial and real estate projects.
Reasons for Punta Cana to be a municipality
According to the 2022 Census, prepared by the National Statistics Office, La Altagracia was the province that grew the most in population, going from 273,210 inhabitants in 2010 to 446,060 in 2022, with a variation of 63.27%.
This is due to the migration of people seeking job opportunities in Verón-Punta Cana. Due to this growth, the Government selected this district, along with Moca, to be the first to implement the Territorial Planning Plan, in compliance with Law 368-22.
For 2024, the municipality of Higüey, administered by Mayor Karina Aristy, has a budget of 900 million pesos, and Verón-Punta Cana of 350 million pesos, according to data from the Dominican Municipal League (LMD).
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