The Free Zones sector foresees total exports for 2022 to exceed US$10 billion, with more than 8 billion in goods and the rest in exported services, generating a net foreign exchange of US$1,700 million, a 9.2% GDP growth and a total impact on the national economy of 7.2% of GDP.
Chairman of the Dominican Free Zones Association Luis (Adozona), Luis Jose Bonilla, announced the news during the celebration of National Free Zone Day, where President Luis Abinader and Minister for Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Victor Ito Bisono, were acknowledged for their role in the country’s economic recovery and record growth of the sector in the last two years.
The event also highlighted the work of the executive director of the National Free Zones Council, Daniel Liranzo. During the annual “Free Zones, Zones of Opportunity” meeting, a study conducted by Analytica was presented which shows that 2021 closed with a 15% growth in exported goods compared to 2019 and 22% compared to 2020.
This growth has also had an impact on job creation, given that 2021 closed with more than 183,000 direct jobs while 2022 is expected to close with more than 200,000 jobs, according to Bonilla, manufacturing being the greatest source of new jobs in the last 2 years.
According to the study, the number of industrial parks increased to 83 in the first half of 2022 (vs 79 in December 2021), with 29 additional companies, while estimates indicate that this sector accounts for 403,318 direct and indirect jobs to date.
In some provinces, free zones account for 1 in 4 formal private jobs as is the case in Santiago de los Caballeros, while 40% of employment in San Cristobal, 22% in San Pedro de Macoris and 39% in Pedernales.
Adonoza chairman Luis Jose Bonilla said that the country’s commitment to free zones was the right one, and that the outstanding results from the sector’s contributions to the economic and social development of the Dominican Republic are proof of this.
He also highlighted the opportunities the country has for nearshoring and urged that public-private partnerships be strengthened to promote a comprehensive strategy to promote the Dominican Republic as a global manufacturing and logistics hub.
“We are already a mature, consolidated, strong, diversified, growing sector, in a country with enviable geographical, economic, political and socially stable conditions”, Bonilla said.
For his part, President Abinader emphasized that “together we have managed to make free zones a dominant source of job creation and economic growth which will bring the real progress and development the country deserves.”
Meanwhile, the Minister for Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Victor Ito Bisono, said that free zones have become the platform that will launch the country to becoming a regional and global success story.
Over the last decade, the sector has diversified incorporating industrial and service activities. Today, it is a sector of textile products, world leading tobacco products, chemicals, jewelry, medical and pharmaceutical products, electrical and electronic goods, business processing outsourcing (BPO), Contact Centers services, logistics services, among others.
The free zones boast 82 industrial parks nationwide, mostly (85%) managed by the private or public-private sector. Currently, 774 companies operate with a total investment worth more that US$ 6,000 million, of which 79% is of international origin, mostly North American companies. International capital amounts to US$ 4,642 million, 12% of the total foreign investment accumulated in the country. The sector is among the main recipients of investment from the USA.
Source:
El Nuevo Diario
