The Industrial Free Zones began their development in the Dominican Republic in the year 1969 with the installation of an Industrial Free Zone in the city of La Romana.
This first free zone was impelled by the transnational company Gulf and Western America Corporation that had been operating fundamentally in the country in the sugar sector from 1967, year in that it acquired the sugar central property of the South Porto Rico Sugar Company.
This first park of Free Zones was installed hardly one year after the promulgation of the Law 299 of " Incentives and Industrial Protection." This legislation is the one that established important stimuli in terms of tax discharges for the companies that in the future settled down in the Industrial Free Zones and dedicated its production to the export.
The second Industrial Free Zone was born in 1972 with the auspice of the public sector through the Corporación de Fomento Industrial (CFI), decentralized entity of the State that presently continues in charge of its administration and operation. This second zone is located in the city of San Pedro de Macorís
In 1973, another Industrial Free Zone located in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, the nation's second-largest city, arose and it was created by the public sector but, contrary to the San Pedro de Macorís, the administration and operation of this one was delegated in a corporation without ends of lucre created to the effect, under the direction of experienced managers of the north region.
In the Dominican Republic, at the moment the Free Zones have become one of the most dynamic sectors in the economy and in strategic bond with the most important international markets. With more than 492 companies settled down in 46 Industrial parks in operation located in almost the whole national geography, the Free Zones constitute one of the main sources of direct and indirect employments, having generated 22,000 direct employments in 1980, total that increased to more than 200,000 in the year 2000.