The bridge building project which has been on paper since 2005 has been resurrected, with the announcement that the documents needed to tender the construction will be ready in March and the works will start in June.
Eleven years and half a dozen Panamanian and Costa Rican presidents have tried to put out to tender the construction of the bridge over the Sixaola river on the border between Costa Rica and Panama. Extreme bureaucracy, unenforceability and unfulfilled political promises surrounded the project which now has a new contract announcement.
"... Some of the professions reserved for national citizens are chemical engineering and petrochemicals, careers which are not offered by any university in Panama. "
EDITORIAL
Acting as a backdrop to the contradiction between migrant's human right to work and the need to reserve jobs for nationals, is the upkeep of competitiveness and economic development of each country.
In relation to GDP, the expenses of the Costa Rican state are the highest in Central America.
This was revealed by a survey conducted by the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (Icefi). Second place is occupied by the Government of Panama with 23% of GDP followed by Guatemala which has one of the lowest with 15.1% of production.
Costa Rica is the only Central American country which plans to increase current spending to a total of 18.6% of GDP, also the highest in the region. "... The tax burden is not enough to fund the standard of living in terms of public service delivery," said Renato Vargas Icefi analyst.
The Panamanian Cabinet has approved a trade agreement between the countries of the European Free Trade Association and the Central American states.
From a press release issued by the Government of Panama:
The Cabinet gave its approval to Bill No. 077-13, approving a Free Trade Agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the Central American States, and authorizing the Minister of Trade and Industries, by Cabinet Resolution No. 160-13, to present the regulation to the National Assembly.
Costa Rican truckers have lifted the blockade which they were holding at Paso Canoas confident that the Panamanian authorities will comply with the agreements signed.
The truckers decided to end the five-day strike held in Paso Canoas and are hoping that the Costa Rican government will not permit them to suffer any more abuses by the State Border Service (SENAFRONT).
From 2 to 4 October the VII Forum on Competitiveness in the Americas will be held in Panama, where the hemisphere's leading authorities in the field of economy, trade and industry will gather together.
From a press release issued by the Presidency of Honduras:
Panama will host the VII Competitiveness Forum of the Americas, which brings together representatives that make up the Inter-American Competitiveness Network and the hemisphere's leading authorities in the field of economy, trade and industry, to be held in the month of October.
The new stretch of highway will shorten the distance between the Atlantic ports of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
The $60 million were loaned by the Andean Promotion Corporation (CAF) and they are intended for the "Atlantic Corridor Investment Program," which includes projects in Bajos of Chilamate and Vuelta Kooper (the stretch of highway between Limón and Nicaragua,) and a new bridge over the Sixaola River on the border with Panama.