P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 5033
The Martín Peña Canal ENLACE Project Corporation, hereinafter, “the Corporation”, is hereby created as an entity and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, with juridical personality independent and separate from its officials and any other public agency or government instrumentality, and the Municipality of San Juan. This public corporation shall exist for a term of twenty-five (25) years, which may be extended through Executive Order of the Governor for five (5) additional years, at the end of which it shall cease to exist. Once this term elapses, the Legislative Assembly shall determine the process whereby the assets of the Corporation shall be liquidated. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as holder of the debt, the Corporation shall enjoy all the necessary powers to honor the same and to maintain its existence, regardless of the type, until its debt is settled.
The Corporation shall have the necessary financial and operational capacities to implement the public policy established in this chapter and shall be governed by a Board of Directors in order to comply with the goals, duties, functions, and prerogatives entrusted thereto, in the public interest and for the benefit thereof. In the discharge of its duties and functions, the Corporation shall serve the interests of society in general, ensuring that the present and future interests of the communities that constitute the District are properly upheld. Thus, the expression of public interest arising from the decisions of the Commonwealth, and the Corporation in particular, shall legitimately represent the general interest. The Corporation shall be excluded from the application of the Public Service Human Resources Administration Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, §§ 1461 et seq. of Title 3, and Act No. 164 of June 23, 1974, as amended, known as the “General Services Administration Act”. The Corporation’s Personnel Regulations shall guarantee the application of the merit principle in the Corporation’s personnel system.
The Corporation shall have the following objectives, among others:
(1) To be the entity responsible for coordinating and implementing all aspects of the ENLACE Project, including, but not limited to, the development of housing and infrastructure, the dredging and canalization of the Canal, as well as urban and socio-economic development. It may implement related projects and programs, contract with third parties to develop the same, and coordinate with public agencies that have projects and programs in the District.
(2) To guarantee mechanisms for citizen participation in the planning and execution of the ENLACE Project and promote community empowerment, leadership training, and strengthening of community-based organizations. It shall provide technical support to District residents, community businesses, and community-based organizations whenever necessary, and keep the residents and business owners informed about the development of the ENLACE Project and the participation mechanisms.
(3) To promote the creation of strategic alliances with the private entrepreneurial sector and with bona fide nonprofit organizations.
(4) To promote the greatest participation of the private sector in the development of the ENLACE Project, for which it shall stimulate investments, industrial and commercial development, individual and the collective citizen and business initiatives of the District and the Puerto Rican community in general.
(5) To encourage, facilitate, and foster the creation, improvement, and strengthening of enterprises and businesses owned by District and Cantera Peninsula residents and located therein, among others, through the establishment of preferential treatment measures in the procurement processes of public agencies. It shall promote the contracting and subcontracting of residents and community- based organizations, including community businesses, that meet the requirements and are able to execute programs and projects related to the ENLACE Project.
(6) To guarantee the ongoing citizen participation in the decision-making process, planning, and execution of the ENLACE Project to allow both the long- term permanence of the communities that constitute the District and fair and equal treatment in the family relocation processes needed to implement the ENLACE Project.
(7) To carry out its duties as it achieves its full development, with trained personnel and a reduced structure, so that it does not lose its nature as an agile and efficient coordinating entity and does not become a heavy bureaucratic apparatus.
(8) To seek innovative and assertive means for financing the development of the ENLACE Project, combining public and private resources toward such purposes.
(9) To coordinate the appropriate attention toward the land ownership rights situation, according to the provisions set forth in this chapter.
History —Sept. 24, 2004, No. 489, § 4; Aug. 14, 2013, No. 104, § 4.