We are pleased to inform that, after an exhaustive investigation carried out by the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC), through its Resolution 017/20 said institution declared the construction of the Bávaro International Airport (AIB) harmful to the public interest, suspending and requesting the nullity of the authorizations that were granted.
This investigation was initiated as a result of various complaints and legal actions initiated by the Corporación Aeroportuaria del Este (CAE), which echoed the irregularities and flaws in the process of approval and obtaining all the permits for the AIB project.
This decision marks an important milestone in the case since it sends a clear signal that the Dominican Republic is a state of law, in which legal security and respect for the laws are above the interests of individuals. In its resolution, the IDAC reiterates that it is the duty of the State that the airport infrastructures be installed without jeopardizing the country’s aeronautical security and citizen security while identifying the regulations and laws that serve that purpose, that the project AIB defaulted.
CAE’s legal team is made up of renowned lawyers from prestigious firms in the country, coordinated by Lic. Enrique De Marchena Kaluche, Managing Partner of DMK Abogados, with the participation of Lic. Luis Julio Jimenez de Jimenez Pena and Dr. Miguel Valerio . Also participating are Lic. Nelson Jáquez Suárez (Litigation) and Patricia Guzman Parra (Environment), partners of DMK Abogados.
News:
The project for the construction of the Bavaro International Airport (AIB) has been declared “harmful to the public interest” by the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC), which continued to order the suspension of this work, based on the argument that its approval It violated “the principles, norms, and procedures established in the current legal system, which justifies its nullity.”
In a resolution made public yesterday, under the signature of its director, Román Caamaño Vélez, irregularities are recorded in the project approval process and highlights, “the insufficient studies that guarantee both the operational safety of the airport and its compliance with regulations in force, including environmental ones ”.
The IDAC’s determination comes after a strong movement of public opinion on the construction of the airport project in Bávaro, especially due to the speed with which the approval process and tax concessions approved by the Council for Tourism Development (Confotur) were completed.
Concern for safety appears as one of the main reasons in the recitals of the resolution, where it is stated that “in the technical feasibility reports of the Bávaro International Airport project issued by different IDAC bodies it can be verified that, although they granted the no objection to the development of the project, it was considered very necessary more information, real and certified data, which would lead to a greater analysis ”.
It also indicates that “it is the duty of the State that the airport infrastructures are installed without jeopardizing the country’s aeronautical security and the operation of other existing infrastructures, thus taking care of citizen security.”
If the Bávaro International Airport is built, according to technical studies, there would be just a two-minute flight between that new terminal and Punta Cana.
As confirmation of at least negligence in the authorization of the project, the resolution, marked with the number 017/20, indicates the absence of several essential studies for the authorization of the tourist work.
Among the irregularities pointed out in the recitals are, in addition, the inexistence of “the corporate documents that guarantee the constitution or incorporation of the company, and that contain information about its partners, managers or directors and compliance with the rules applicable to the hiring or concession of infrastructures of this nature. Also included among the irregularities are “the notification or notice to the owners, possessors, and holders of any title, of the neighboring properties to which it is planned to build the said airport in compliance with articles 161 and 164 of Law No. 491-06.
The sponsors of the project, adds the resolution, “did not provide” the Certificate of Title that protects the ownership of the land where it is planned to build or the document justifying the legitimate enjoyment or possession of it; the corresponding studies to determine the costs and benefits that the Dominican State would entail making the investments required to equip and provide services at said airport, as well as the viability of the modifications in the aforementioned air navigation procedures.
Causes of the conflict
The presidential concession executed during the last administration, for the construction of the international airport of Bávaro, in the province of La Altagracia, met with the resistance of the Corporación Aeroportuaria del Este, which denounced irregularities to obtain its approval, even going so far as to take the case as a complaint before the Special Prosecutor for the Persecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca)
The legal action was directed against the past Legal Consultancy of the Executive Power, the IDAC, and seven of its officials, for not objecting to the execution of the work. The Corporation explained that by granting its consent and no objection to the development of the project, “these officials could have compromised their criminal responsibility by adopting an arbitrary decision …”
DETAILS
The case reached Pepca
Under suspicion.
The report that validated the final approval of the project in Bávaro, according to his opponents, “contains a series of anomalies that make the content and reason for its subsequent approval questionable.”
Source:
Listin Diario
