INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

The executive director of the Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), Javier Bayón Torres, traveled to the Dominican Republic from October 4 to 6, to meet with directors of export free zones , industrial parks, national assets and companies, to create alliances with public and private entities in order to see Puerto Rico as an investment destination for companies from the neighboring island, and take note of what they have done to lease 100 % of its industrial parks.

Bayón Torres explained that his agenda began with a meeting with Luis José Bonilla, José Manuel Torres and María Victoria Calderón, president, executive vice president and executive assistant, respectively, of the Dominican Association of Free Zones. He also met with Daniel Liranzo, general director of the National Council of Export Free Zones, and with Carlos Guillermo Flaquer, vice minister of Free Zones and Special Regimes of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, to "understand the operation of industrial parks in free zones, emulate good practices in Puerto Rico and improve our way of doing business”.

The agenda also included visits to the Administrative and Financial Subdirector General of the General Directorate of National Assets, David Brito, the president of the Santo Domingo Cyber Park, Eddy Martínez, the Duarte Industrial Park, the Dos Pinos dairy, Corvi Plastic (manufacturer of PVC pipes) and Corvi Metal, "in order to meet, seek and dialogue with possible investors who may consider establishing themselves in PRIDCO properties".

“The main objective of this visit was to establish relationships with government representatives, largely responsible for the success they have had in managing to lease 100% of their industrial parks, in addition to learning first-hand about the excellent performance of their free zones. We are about to start the Strategic Restructuring Plan here in Puerto Rico with some $180 million that we have received from FEMA, and we want to be ready to lease the properties that we have available once they are in optimal conditions”, highlighted the Executive Director of PRIDCO,

“The Dominican Republic is extremely competitive in that sense. So, it was important to understand how they've done it and how we can emulate what they've done well. It is important to establish good bilateral relations and learn from what works in other countries, particularly in a Caribbean island like ours, to which we are linked by so many ties”, concluded Bayón Torres.

This trip by a representative of the government of Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic, follows the one made last August by the Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce, Manuel Cidre, to strengthen commercial ties with the sister island. It precedes the one that Governor Pedro Pierluisi will carry out next December, to sign agreements that will expand relations between the two countries.