Santo Domingo.– The Roco Ki tourism project being built in the Dominican Republic will call for an estimated total investment of US$90mn in infrastructure works, a project promotion official revealed during the 6th Latin American Leadership Forum, held in Miami this week.

The initiative is being developed in Punta Cana, on the country's eastern coast. Infrastructure development for the initiative was divided into two phases, of which the first will require an investment of US$40mn, the official said.

First stage works include local road development, the construction of an 8-9 km aqueduct to provide the area with potable water, and power and communications infrastructure.

Authorities are currently planning each individual project in the tourism complex and some are already underway, but many have yet to be carried out, making this an attractive opportunity for investors, the official said.

Access from the local airport to Roco Ki will improve once a new boulevard connecting the Punta Cana airport to the area is finished.

Travel time from the tourist resort area to international airports La Romana and Las Américas is also expected to improve once the construction of the highways connecting the terminals to the Punta Cana area is completed, the official said, adding that these two initiatives are not included in the US$40mn.

The remaining US$50mn investment will take place during the second phase of infrastructure development.

Authorities have yet to determine when to carry out this phase and which projects it will include. These issues will be defined depending on the success of the complex.