NewsWhore
11-12-2009, 05:00 PM
If all the T's are crossed and the I's dotted, the DR may see the proposed yet controversial mega baseball complex become a reality before 2013. Its promoters say this would ensure that the 2013 World Baseball Classic could be played in the DR.
Architect Joaquin Geronimo, general manager of the National Housing Bank (BNV) that is in charge of the property where the entertainment and residential complex would be built, said the Dominican government is fully supporting the project. He said that President Leonel Fernandez would take advantage of his visit to Portugal to attend a heads of state meeting to sign commercial bank loans with Portuguese bank Caiza Geral de Deposito. These would include US$75 million that would be used to build the Juan Marichal Sports Complex, estimated to cost US$150 million. The groundbreaking ceremony would then take place in the first week of December.
Listin Diario reports that Ingenieros y Arquitectos Rodriguez, Sandoval & Asociados would be responsible for the construction, working with a Portuguese partner, Visabeira. The Quisqueya Ball Park remodeling alone would cost US$20 million. Stadium works would be completed by 2012, deadline for being considered for the WBC program.
The complex calls for major renovations to the Quisqueya Ball Park, the construction of a 175-room four-star hotel and a Dominican baseball museum. Six high rises (14 to 19 floors each) with 288 apartments would also be built, in addition to a shopping center, office buildings, and two buildings for parking. The project has been criticized for lack of transparency and furthermore on the grounds that the government's real estate contribution is being undervalued, tenders have not been held, and there are doubts about the viability of a hotel in the area. The priority of government investment in this primarily a real estate project is also questioned. This is the first announcement suggesting the government will take on responsibility for funding the complex.
Geronimo said the government would take on US$224 million in loans with the Portuguese commercial bank.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
Architect Joaquin Geronimo, general manager of the National Housing Bank (BNV) that is in charge of the property where the entertainment and residential complex would be built, said the Dominican government is fully supporting the project. He said that President Leonel Fernandez would take advantage of his visit to Portugal to attend a heads of state meeting to sign commercial bank loans with Portuguese bank Caiza Geral de Deposito. These would include US$75 million that would be used to build the Juan Marichal Sports Complex, estimated to cost US$150 million. The groundbreaking ceremony would then take place in the first week of December.
Listin Diario reports that Ingenieros y Arquitectos Rodriguez, Sandoval & Asociados would be responsible for the construction, working with a Portuguese partner, Visabeira. The Quisqueya Ball Park remodeling alone would cost US$20 million. Stadium works would be completed by 2012, deadline for being considered for the WBC program.
The complex calls for major renovations to the Quisqueya Ball Park, the construction of a 175-room four-star hotel and a Dominican baseball museum. Six high rises (14 to 19 floors each) with 288 apartments would also be built, in addition to a shopping center, office buildings, and two buildings for parking. The project has been criticized for lack of transparency and furthermore on the grounds that the government's real estate contribution is being undervalued, tenders have not been held, and there are doubts about the viability of a hotel in the area. The priority of government investment in this primarily a real estate project is also questioned. This is the first announcement suggesting the government will take on responsibility for funding the complex.
Geronimo said the government would take on US$224 million in loans with the Portuguese commercial bank.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)