Hub-Ready

Rio Haina, located just 10km away from Santo Domingo, which is currently the Dominican Republic’s main and busiest port, handling approximately 60% of all cargo, focuses mainly on regional trade, specifically with the US. The port’s operator, Haina International Terminals (HIT), which invests heavily in security and innovative technologies, was the first company in the Dominican Republic to be certified as an authorized economic operator by the World Customs Organization. Besides, according to Erik Alma, HIT’s President, Haina has “the best CCTV system in the country: more than 130 cameras with a world-class monitoring center.” Following its recent development strategy, the port is currently in the latest stages of implementing biometric access control in all restricted areas.

The country’s second busiest port, Caucedo, is a world-class marine terminal and free zone, located in Boca Chica, just 25km from the city of Santo Domingo. The port started its operations in December 2003, providing the necessary infrastructure to allow Post-Panamax ship operations. Caucedo forms part of the DP World portfolio of marine terminals, and was built with the objective of projecting the Dominican Republic as a strong competitor in the international market. Responding to new market trends arising from the Panama Canal’s expansion, Caucedo will soon start dredging from 13.5 to 15m. Recognizing that the world’s most successful ports attract clients by offering industrial and logistics activities in the very same place, Caucedo will soon introduce its new logistics center with one-stop shopping services to further facilitate international commerce and bring the Dominican Republic a significant competitive advantage over other regional players.