SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CMC) — President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader on Friday announced that the country would establish a network of dry ports along its border with Haiti.

In giving his annual address to Congress as part of the 182nd anniversary of Independence, Abinader described the project, as “the most important logistics project ever conceived” for the region.

He said this represents a private investment estimated at over US$300 million, which will operate under a free trade zone regime.

He specified that this was a “strategic decision by the state aimed at strengthening our sovereignty through development and competitiveness”.

The president stated that the country “already has a border wall to protect” its territory and that it would now “build a true economic wall” explaining: “These dry ports will revitalise border provinces, facilitate trade, strengthen formal trade with Haiti, and definitively put an end to smuggling networks.”

Abinader also indicated that in other border countries, such as Mexico and the United States, “This model (dry ports) has proven to be an effective tool for centralising customs control, normalising trade, and transforming entire regions into development hubs.”

He added, “There can be no stability where informality reigns. Security is not achieved solely through surveillance; it also involves job creation, trade organisation and the generation of real opportunities.”

A dry port is an inland logistics platform connected to a seaport by rail, road or river.

It functions as an extension of the coastal port by offering customs clearance, storage and container transhipment services, thereby relieving congestion in port areas and facilitating transport to consumption or production centres.