Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi appointed Francisco Rodríguez Dosal as executive director of the Puerto Rico Highways Transportation Authority Monday.
The authority’s debt is currently in Title III bankruptcy as part of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. The HTA has about $6 billion of debt outstanding, most of it bond debt. It is currently not paying its debt service payments.
Pierluisi said that Rodríguez Dosal has 24 years of experience in public service and the construction industry. In addition, he has participated in and presided over infrastructure and construction projects with companies in Puerto Rico.
He has a master of science degree in civil engineering. He was a professor of civil engineering at the University of Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board is negotiating with several investment funds concerning Puerto Rico’s central government debt. These negotiations also cover the PRHTA’s debt.
Bankruptcy Judge Laura Taylor Swain has called for the parties to submit a term sheet for a proposed deal by Feb. 10. In the most recently released board proposal for the HTA debt, the authority’s bonds would be paid at less than a cent on the dollar.
