Cabo Rojo-Pedernales (Dominicana)

Port Cabo Rojo is in Dominicana's Pedernales province. The Port is private and owned by Alcoa Corporation (1888-founded, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA). Alcoa (Aluminum Corporation of America) uses Puerto de Cabo Rojo for exporting bauxite (rock with a high aluminum content) and limestone.

The Port's cargo terminal is currently operated by Cementos Andino SA (1998-founded Colombian company) which exports cement clinker and concrete, as well as bauxite and limestone.

On June 1, 2022, officially started the construction works on Cabo Rojo Cruise Port (~US$100 million project). The port was completed in December 2023 (Phase 1) and officially inaugurated on January 4, 2024. The project includes building two docking facilities/piers, a modern passenger terminal, a premium yacht marina, a large water park.

When fully completed, Cabo Rojo Cruise Port has projected annual capacity to receive/handle up to 1 million cruise tourists.

The project's Phase I (June 2022 thru December 2023) included building two piers and the cruise terminal. Phase II (planned for completion in 2024-Q2) includes the expansion of the terminal, adding two more cruise piers and a pier dedicated to fishing boats.

The cruise port's annual passenger capacity is around 1 million, targeting predominantly international tourists.

Cabo Rojo cruise port is managed by APORDOM (Dominican Port Authority) and ITM Group (based in Cancun Mexico). ITM also operates the cruise ports Costa Maya (Yucatan, Quintana Roo Mexico) and Taino Bay/Puerto Plata (Dominicana). According to ITM, Cabo Rojo's cruise shipping activities could generate annually between US$120-150 million.

Cabo Rojo cruise port project's cost was estimated at ~RD$ 7,1 billion (Dominican pesos/~USD 126 million) and the entire money (a private investment) was provided via a loan from Banco Central de la Republica Dominicana (the country's Central Bank). Reportedly, the project was expected to generate 5000+ local jobs (direct and indirect) thus boosting Pedernales province's economy.

In 2022, Dominican Republic's investments in the Pedernales region were ~US$80-90M, and an additional ~US$150-200M was invested in 2023. The Government's RD$ 15B (~USD 270M) development plan included the construction of three coastal hotels near the cruise port (combined capacity 1600 rooms), building six more hotels, an advanced wastewater treatment plant, supporting infrastructure, internal roads, as well as repairs and expansion of the Barahona Enriquillo Coastal Highway and a new airport (cost ~US$70M).

In February 2023, NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line included Cabo Rojo Pedernales in its 2024 schedule as a new Caribbean destination. NCL's itineraries that visited Cabo Rojo in 2024 (January, March, April) were roundtrips from La Romana (Dominicana) and scheduled for the Norwegian Sky ship. In January 2025 NCL's ship Norwegian Jewel was also listed in Cabo Rojo Port's schedule. Norwegian Sky's 14-day "Panama Canal: Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic" itinerary (Jan 3-17) was a roundtrip from Tampa Florida USA. The Panama Canal segment was a partial transit (Gatun Lake cruising).

In 2023, the Dominican Republic also made investments in upgrades to Port Samana, which is often visited by ships of NCL-Norwegian and RCI-Royal Caribbean International.

The road distance from Cabo Rojo Port to Pedernales City is approx 20 km / 12 mi. Pedernales is on the Dominicana-Haiti border and has a border crossing to Anse-a-Pitres. The municipality's economy is based on agriculture (beans, coffee), beef cattle and goats, mining (bauxite), commercial fishing (lobster, lambi) and domestic tourism. The most visited tourist destinations are Bahia de las Aguilas Beach and Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, both a short distance from Pedernales.

Cabo Rojo Airport is approx 16 km / 10 mi southeast of Pedernales City (population around 30,000). The airport serves only domestic flights.

Cabo Rojo (translated Cape Red) signifies both the cape and the beach (Playa Cabo Rojo). This part of Dominicana is known for its bauxite mines, pristine turquoise waters and scenic white-sand beaches, the most popular of which are Cabo Rojo and Bahia de las Aguilas (8-km/5-mi long beach).

Dominican Republic's Cabo Rojo has namesakes in Mexico's Veracruz state (a sand barrier approx 55 km / 34 mi south of Tampico, Tamaulipas, that encloses Laguna de Tamiahua) and Puerto Rico (a city and municipality part of the San German-Cabo Rojo metro area).

Cabo Rojo-Pedernales cruise terminal