The Executive Branch of the Dominican Republic submitted a bill to the Senate on Thursday seeking to repeal the country's public-private partnership law and replace it with a modernized framework designed to streamline project approvals.
The proposed legislation would replace Law 47-20, which has regulated joint public and private infrastructure ventures for the past six years. Government officials said the measure is intended to shorten evaluation periods, attract more private investment, and support a broader national target of doubling the country's economic output by 2036.
Minister of the Presidency José Ignacio Paliza and Andrés Lugo, the director general of the Public-Private Partnerships Directorate, formally presented the draft law to Senate President Ricardo de los Santos at the National Congress in Santo Domingo.
Paliza explained that he submitted the draft on the direct instructions of President Luis Abinader. He noted that six years of experience under Law 47-20 demonstrated the need for an updated legal tool, acknowledging that the state had not managed to form as many partnerships as authorities had originally hoped.
Public-private partnerships are joint agreements where private companies fund, build, or manage public infrastructure and services alongside government entities. In the Dominican Republic, Law 47-20 was enacted in 2020 to establish standard bidding procedures, risk distribution rules, and administrative oversight for such investments.
Proposed changes to partnership rules
Under the proposed overhaul, process deadlines for both private companies and public institutions would be shortened to prevent delays in reviewing and approving projects. Lugo stated that the primary focus of the initiative is to modernize procedures and make project evaluation more efficient across all participating agencies.
The initiative would also create a new decision-making body known as the Public-Private Partnerships Council. Serving as the supreme authority for the sector, the council would hold the power to declare projects to be of public interest, approve bidding documentation, award contracts, and authorize transfers of public funds.
In addition, the bill maintains a flexible model allowing proposed ventures to be initiated by either public entities or private sector developers. The framework aims to strengthen state capacity in delivering major road projects, expanding social infrastructure, distributing investment risks fairly between public and private partners, and protecting long-term fiscal sustainability.
Legislative timeline and economic goals
Receiving the proposal, Senate President Ricardo de los Santos affirmed that the bill will follow standard legislative channels. He noted that laws are subject to improvement over time and said six years of implementation provided ample evidence that significant changes were required.
De los Santos announced that the Senate will introduce the bill during its next formal session before referring it to a specialized legislative committee for detailed examination. While declining to give a final date for passage during the current session, he stated that lawmakers would evaluate the text without haste but without pause, adding that the nation would have a new law in record time.
De los Santos emphasized that investment generated through public-private cooperation remains one of the most effective drivers of national development.
Impact on regional infrastructure projects
Highlighting the practical motivation behind the reform, Paliza tied the updated framework directly to economic expansion plans. He noted that the government has set a national goal to double the size of the Dominican economy by 2036, requiring stronger synergy between state agencies and commercial investors.
Paliza cited an upcoming partnership currently being finalized in the northeastern province of Samaná as an example of what the new framework aims to support. The agreement involves transforming the former Duarte port in Arroyo Barril into a dedicated cruise ship terminal.
Samaná is a major coastal tourism destination along the country's Atlantic shoreline, and the redevelopment of the Arroyo Barril site is designed as a win-win structure for local communities and private operators. Paliza said the cruise terminal transformation could significantly alter the economic profile of the region, with projections indicating the site could eventually welcome up to one million cruise passengers annually.
The bill now begins its formal passage through the National Congress, where it must be reviewed and approved by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies before being sent to the president for final promulgation into law.
