Dominican Republic Senate approves $465 million loans for road safety and Yuna river basin

The Dominican Republic Senate approved two loan contracts worth a combined US$465 million from the Inter‑American Development Bank. One loan of US$200 million will fund the National Road‑Safety Policy implementation programme, to be executed by the Ministry of Public Works and Communications and the National Institute of Traffic and Land Transport. The second loan of US$265 million will finance the Yuna River Basin Management Project, to be carried out by the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources. The loans were previously cleared by the Chamber of Deputies and were fast‑tracked in less than 24 hours amid a legislative session that was set to close. Opposition lawmakers raised concerns about the pace of the approval and the growing public debt, arguing that the funds should be linked to measurable results. The financing aims to reduce traffic accidents, improve road infrastructure, and strengthen flood‑risk mitigation and water‑resource management in the Yuna basin.