Officials of the new Solis administration said that in the awarding of works "there is blatent and entrenched favoritism" that "is a disadvantage" to companies who "are not friends of anyone."
An article in Nacion.com reports that "... The chief executive of the National Institute of Housing and Urbanism (INVU), Sonia Montero Díaz denounced the existence of a 'monopoly' in the construction of houses for social welfare. "
The development of the Greater Metropolitan Area in Costa Rica has been halted awaiting a new proposal to combine the interests of over 50 offices and organizations.
Nacion.com reports that approval of the most recent proposal for a land use plan has stalled, "while the executive branch tries to reconcile the clash of interests between the various sectors involved in the matter."
The National Institute of Housing and Urban Development has announced the creation of a trust to finance housing for middle-income families.
According to an article in Nacion.com, the new CEO of the National Institute of Housing and Urban Development (INVU in Spanish), Alvaro Gonzalez, said three lots are available in the province of San José, where the plan is to build high rise condominiums, and another in the province of Guanacaste where blocks of houses will be built.
Opposition to the expansion of the boundary for urban development in the greater metropolitan area is preventing the necessary renewal of the rules for land use.
Led by the Ministry of Housing, the Territorial Ordering Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Area created by the Institute of Housing and Urban Development, is in a period of consultation.
"The issue is controversial because it determines the type of use land may be given.
A regulatory amendment empowers the National Housing Institute of Costa Rica to grant mortgage loans to legal persons.
Regulation Law 8448, of the National Housing Institute (INVU) allows loans for housing to be granted exclusively to individuals who are heads of household.
From now on, the INVU can also grant mortgage loans to legal persons registered in the Public Registry and when it is established the purpose is for real estate development.
The German government will allocate about $27 million for regional health, violence prevention, energy and sustainable development projects.
The German ambassador in El Salvador, Christian Stocks, and the Secretary General of SICA, Juan Daniel German, formalized the implementation of four projects.
The first project, "Land Use Planning and Sustainable Development (OTDES)" corresponds to a request by the Heads of State and Government of SICA countries, expressed in the Declaration of Comalapa, last October, and aims to strengthen the capacity and performance of institutions responsible for land use planning in the region, with the aim of promoting regional and territorial development processes, allowing both the promotion of economic and social development such as an improvement in risk management and natural disasters.
The Housing Institute has a $ 2 million fund for housing loans intended for the middle class.
"The proposal is part of a pilot program which could be extended to up to$ 11.74 million,” according to the article in El Financiero.
The loans are targeted to households with incomes over $ 500 which can borrow up to $ 62 thousand and households with incomes above the $ 2 thousand for loans up to $ 88 thousand.
Honduras has begun to regulate land use and ownership, beginning with planning at a municipal level.
The absence of any formal regulation was laid bare in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch caused thousands of deaths and huge economic damage.
The aim of regulation is to identify areas that are suitable for development in a wide range of industries, such as tourism and mining, as well as for housing, farming and fishing.