Punta Bergantín Project generates great enthusiasm in Puerto Plata community

Puerto Plata — The population of Villa Montellano, the municipality of Puerto Plata, where the government and the private sector will develop the Punta Bergantín megaproject, is enthusiastic about getting involved in the tourism sector, according to a socioeconomic study.

The survey, conducted by Punta Bergantín, the Mayor’s Office of Villa Montellano, and the Single System of Beneficiaries (Siuben), reveals that 76.3% of those surveyed would like to receive tourism training, while 76.4% expressed interest in working in that industry in the future.

From November to December, the entities surveyed 6,306 occupied homes, of which 15.5% said they had received training in the sector. Of this latter percentage, 30.5% said the training was at a hospitality and tourism school.

The survey also revealed that 11.4% of residents of Villa Montellano, a municipality founded in 1918 that once depended on the sugar industry, work in the “smokeless industry.”

It should be noted that Punta Bergantín was announced in January 2023 as an ambitious plan that will include the construction of 6,760 hotel rooms and 13,705 residential units. The first hotels are already under construction. The plan also includes a technology innovation center and a film studio, which will be run by actor Vin Diesel.

According to Diario Libre, the project, which will be built on 10 million square meters in Villa Montellano, aims to generate more than 15,000 direct and indirect jobs.

In this regard, it could improve the Quality of Life Index (ICV), whose extreme and moderate points cover 37.3% of the households interviewed, and at the same time improve the Climate Shock Vulnerability Index (Ivacc), which stands at 31.6% and includes homes with zinc and asbestos-cement roofs.