Dominican Government to Build Commercial Spaceport

• The Dominican Republic has announced plans to build a commercial spaceport in the province of Pedernales after reaching an agreement with U.S.-based company Launch on Demand, marking a major step toward the country’s entry into the global space economy.
• President Luis Abinader revealed the project during his State of the Nation address before the National Assembly, stating that the spaceport will involve an investment exceeding US$600Mn and aims to enable the launch of a satellite or rocket from Dominican territory before May 2028, following three years of negotiations with Launch on Demand and U.S. investment funds led by Burton Cantlich, a former operations director at NASA.
• The spaceport project forms part of a broader government strategy to diversify the economy through high-level technological partnerships, including collaborations with Nvidia and Google, with Nvidia supporting specialised training and an artificial intelligence centre of excellence, and Google planning to invest more than US$500Mn in a digital exchange hub with a data centre and submarine cable connections to the United States.
• Abinader said these initiatives position the Dominican Republic as a regional leader in advanced technology, digital connectivity, and innovation, enhance national competitiveness, attract global technology firms, and support the transformation of Pedernales into a tourism and logistics hub alongside infrastructure development.
• The president cited economic indicators, including 2.1% growth in 2025, exports of nearly US$16Bn, foreign direct investment surpassing US$5Bn, projections from institutions such as the World Bank and the Harvard Growth Lab, and alignment with RD 2036 and Harvard University’s Atlas of Economic Complexity ambition to rank among the world’s 20 most dynamic economies.

(Source: Dominican Today)