Abinader opens 33 government offices in Bonao and announces RD$509 million for health care in Monseñor Nouel
President Luis Abinader inaugurated on Sunday in Bonao, Monseñor Nouel province, the renovated Juan Pablo Duarte Government Offices Building, which will bring together 33 public institutions in a single location to bring state services closer to the province's residents.
The building, whose recovery and refurbishment cost RD$240,754,109.14, will begin providing services on Tuesday, according to Rafael Burgos Gómez, director general of National Assets. Among the agencies that will operate there are Supérate, the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa), the General Directorate of Passports, Intrant, Promese/CAL, Conani, the Ministry of Women and the Comprehensive Care Center for Disability (CAID).
On health, the president announced an investment of RD$509 million for the province: RD$210 million to expand the Pedro Emilio de Marchena hospital, with new rooms and intensive care units, and RD$299 million, plus equipment, to convert the former José Columna hospital, of the IDSS, into a maternal and child center. He also recalled the reconstruction and refurbishment work at the hospitals in Maimón and Piedra Blanca.
On roads, Abinader announced work on the entrance to Bonao from the Duarte highway, where about 14 homes and two businesses will be expropriated to improve access and reduce accidents, as well as the reconstruction of Avenida de las Hortensias and drainage works, which will go out to tender. He also announced a CAID Territorial Intervention Unit for children with special needs, which should be ready in about a month to a month and a half.
The president explained that the government has begun building, rebuilding and remodeling more than 30 government office centers in different provinces, as part of a national program whose first stage covers 11 buildings and the second 24 properties in 14 provinces. According to Burgos Gómez, a census identified 44,000 state-owned properties, and the state spends about RD$12,000 million a year renting offices, an expense the initiative seeks to reduce.
Photo: Presidencia de la República Dominicana