Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED) presented this Tuesday the main progress of the Permitting Modernization Plan (PMP).
This plan is a comprehensive strategy that drives the transformation of the construction permitting system in the Dominican Republic through the strengthening of processes, regulatory updates, technological development, the professionalization of human talent, and greater institutional coordination.
During a new edition of the MIVHED in Motion meeting, the Minister of Housing, Habitat and Buildings, Víctor “Ito” Bisonó, explained that the modernization of permitting responds to a comprehensive vision that seeks to strengthen the State’s institutional capacity, provide greater traceability and transparency to processes, standardize technical criteria, and offer a better experience to those developing construction projects in the country.
As part of the event, the ministry also presented the progress in the development of the new platform for the management of construction permits, a technological tool owned by the Dominican State that will allow for strengthening the traceability of files, improving the integration of processes, and consolidating the digital transformation of the permitting process.
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“The transformation of the permitting process began long before the technology. It began by listening to the sector, understanding the processes, and making decisions to strengthen what depends on the MIVHED. The platform is a tool to consolidate that transformation, not the starting point,” stated Bisonó.
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The minister explained that the Modernization Plan arises from an extensive consultation and diagnostic process, during which around 3,700 files were analyzed, in addition to holding meetings with developers, unions, professionals, and representatives of the construction sector in different regions of the country to identify opportunities for improvement and convert them into an institutional transformation roadmap.
Likewise, he highlighted that the permitting process is a complex procedure involving more than 160 institutions, including ministries, city councils, and agencies with specific competencies.
“We cannot promise what depends on more than 160 institutions. What we can do is assume our responsibility, strengthen what depends on the MIVHED, and work so that the system is increasingly better articulated. We are all temporary here, but institutional solutions must remain and serve the country and the sector in the long term,” he emphasized.
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Results that support the transformation
During the meeting, the minister presented the main results achieved by the modernization process of the permitting system.
Between January and July 2026, the MIVHED issued 1,122 construction permits, compared to 605 registered during the same period in 2025, for a growth of 85%. In July alone, 201 permits were issued, the highest number recorded in a single month since the creation of the ministry.
The licenses issued during the first seven months of the year correspond to projects representing RD$406.715 billion in facilitated private investment, an increase of 171% compared to the same period in 2025. In July alone, the 201 licenses granted represent RD$76.524 billion in investment and an estimate of 56,684 associated direct jobs.
A roadmap for transforming permitting
The Permitting Modernization Plan is structured around seven strategic pillars that seek to comprehensively strengthen the construction permitting system.
Among them are the implementation of the new Building Code of the Dominican Republic; the development of a new platform for the management of construction permits, conceived as a technological solution owned by the State; the incorporation of technological modules and NORM checklists to standardize the technical evaluation of projects; the MIVHED Intelligence platform to strengthen the traceability of files; the Talent that Builds Capabilities program, aimed at strengthening specialized human capital; the implementation of international quality, compliance, and anti-bribery standards; and the strengthening of coordination and interoperability between the institutions involved in the permitting process.
A transformation aligned with the dynamism of the construction sector
The minister highlighted that the institutional progress coincides with the recent performance of the construction sector reported by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, which informed a year-on-year expansion of 14.9% during June 2026, equivalent to nearly 30% of the growth recorded by the Monthly Economic Activity Index (IMAE) in that period.
As part of the meeting, MIVHED’s technical teams presented to media representatives the progress of the Permitting Modernization Plan and conducted a demonstration of the new platform under development, showcasing the main functionalities that this technological tool will incorporate once its construction and implementation process is concluded.
