The following is a translation of a recent article in El Faro:
------------------------------------------------------------------
What one time ago was the Costámbar tourist project – which took off on a good footing but after a few years underwent a stunt in its growth that has not been able to shake off - is gradually becoming a ghetto, in spite of the efforts of its successive Board of Directors. Since some years back, Costambar has become partially paralyzed and semi-abandoned. A large number of interested foreigners acquired homes and apartments to come and stay for 3-6 months a year; natives also welcomed the place to live in, but, thanks to contamination, lack of a garbage collection program, they have decided to leave. The expectation today is that many such dwellings will close, whose proprietors have not returned to the country nor sold their abandoned and deteriorated properties, thus making Costambar look like a failed tourist project, whose causes are attributed to many reasons. Costambar is more than 2 km (1.2 miles) from the city of PP, in front of the old Free-Duty Zone. In past years, it was a near paradise with its golden sand half-moon-shaped beach, magnificent places, hotels, restaurants, discos and other types of businesses. In spite of being affected by the dredging of the local port, the place forged on with its original attractions. Some other factors that have contributed to the current condition of this spot of unique beauty is the emergence of ghettos around it, surrounding pollution, excessive taxation and the arrival of the Smith-Emron electrical generating plant, which led to the eventual closing of the Bayside Hill Hotel. Things are no longer the same, in spite of the fact there exist proprietor associations and owners of commercial establishments on the beach, who worry about the situation, making efforts to keep it in an acceptable shape that will allow many Dominicans to flock to the beach weekly, in order to enjoy it, with the restrictions that guarantee order and cleanliness. The best years were during 1982-1990, with the Palma Caribe, Bayside Hill, Villa Jazmin and Barlovento hotels, now disappeared and now Costambar has electricity problems, a dearth of drinking water, its streets are deteriorated and disagreement among its three associations as to how to resolve the problems. It is sad that such a beautiful place with many nice remembrances of yesteryear, a place of work for so many, recreation for others and life for others, find itself orphaned today with nobody coming to its rescue, without proposals to recover the economic and touristic attractiveness it once held. Let us not allow its ghetto transformation and abandon be the causes that make Costambar simply become history with streets only transited by ghosts. Authorities from the ministries of Tourism and Medio Ambiente could still do a great deal and show that treasure is not all lost.
Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:57 pm