Dominican Republic Energy and Mines Minister Joel Santos said the Manzanillo Gas & Power project is now 66.9% complete and remains on track to begin operating in 2028, when it will add 840 megawatts to the National Interconnected Electric System (SENI).
Santos toured the project site in Montecristi alongside members of the Electric Cabinet, highlighting the plant's role in meeting rising energy demand and strengthening the stability and reliability of the national grid.
Manzanillo Gas & Power consists of two combined-cycle blocks of 420 megawatts each. Once fully operational, the plant will account for roughly 15% of the country's installed generation capacity.
Construction milestones
Monika Infante, the project's general manager, walked members of the Electric Cabinet through each stage of construction and the milestones reached so far. She said the transmission line has already been completed, with power block one 68% finished and block two about 64.5% complete.
Infante said the project, which is being built with an investment of more than $1.7 billion, has not been affected by international conflicts and remains on schedule. She also said the company has received full support from the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
She added that the ship being converted into the project's floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is expected to enter the shipyard in November this year. On the maritime front, she said more than 40% of the piles needed to connect the plant to the gas supply system have already been driven.
Visit to Energía 2000
After touring the Manzanillo Gas & Power site, Santos and the delegation, which included Electricity Superintendent Andres Astacio, National Energy Commission executive director Edward Veras and Dominican Electric Transmission Company executive vice president Alfonso Rodriguez, moved on to the Energía 2000 plant.
At that facility, Santos said it currently operates in simple cycle with a capacity of 290 megawatts and will complete its conversion to combined cycle on September 28, raising its capacity to 414 megawatts.
Santos said this would represent an increase of 124 megawatts in the plant's contribution to the national electric system.
Who else took part
The tour also included Luis Mejía, president of Manzanillo Gas & Power; Arturo Santana, president of Energía 2000; partners Luis Taveras and Guillermo Estrella; Felipe Vicini and Angie Bergés of Grupo Inicia; José Miguel González and Borja González of Grupo CCN Energía de Las Américas (Enerla); René Grullón of Grupo Popular; and Gustavo García and Lina García of Itabo, among other representatives from entities linked to the project and the electricity sector.
The SENI is the Dominican Republic's national interconnected power grid, which combines generation from public and private plants to supply electricity across the country. The Electric Cabinet groups senior officials from the energy sector who coordinate policy and oversee major infrastructure projects such as Manzanillo Gas & Power.
