Earlier this month, the deputy director of the Metro Office, Leonel Carrasco said that the plan was to finish the first half of the second line of the Metro by December and that President Danilo Medina had authorized the funds and that contractors were making progress. The second line runs from west to east below the John F. Kennedy Avenue.

However, speaking on a radio program on Thursday, 20 September Carrasco complained that the reality is that the Metro has not received funds for construction or maintenance for three months.

He said that reductions in the government subsidy for the operation of the first line could force a system shutdown, even though the Metro raises RD$65 million pesos a year and transports more than 100,000 fare-paying passengers every day.

Carrasco said there are many deficiencies that need maintenance. This includes leaks in the roofs at several stations that have caused damage to the escalators. There are also problems with the air conditioning system in several cars, as reported in Diario Libre. Hoy reported that their unofficial sources suggest that the debt with contractors is more than RD$500 million.

The first part of the second line is set to cost US$700 million and runs from Duarte Highway at Km. 90 along John F. Kennedy Ave. up to the Ozama River.

www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2012/09/20/i352704_linea-del-metro-punto-colapsar-por-falta-recursos.html

www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2012/9/20/447286/Asignacion-para-el-Metro-no-llega-desde-hace-tres-meses

More...