Abinader Inaugurates UASD Plaza, Announces New Medical School in San Francisco de Macorís

San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic – President Luis Abinader inaugurated a newly roofed plaza at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) campus here, an event where he also announced the conversion of the former San Vicente de Paúl Hospital into a medical school and laboratories for the university's Faculty of Health Sciences.

The plaza project represented an investment of 75 million Dominican pesos (RD), with RD 32 million contributed by the government. The improvements are set to benefit more than 12,000 undergraduate students, 450 postgraduate students, and the broader community in the country's Northeast region.

Abinader stated that the initiative fulfills a commitment made to provincial social sectors, underscoring his administration's support for medical training and high-quality public higher education. He added that the new Regional University Hospital would also function as a teaching hospital, dedicated to health education and research.

The president highlighted what he called "one of the best moments" for UASD, attributing it to collaborative efforts between the government and university authorities. He recalled his administration's push for academic expansion, citing new campuses opened in Cotuí and La Vega, aimed at ensuring no student lives more than 40 kilometers from a higher education center.

UASD Rector Editrudis Beltrán lauded Abinader's contributions to transforming the university, describing it as a "social engine" driving knowledge and development. Beltrán detailed the plaza's upgrades, which included roofing approximately 3,000 square meters of the central campus area, replacing floors, and reinforcing foundations and structural elements.

The rector emphasized that these improvements make the plaza an ideal venue for graduation ceremonies and other academic and cultural events.