Following the disasters caused by the eruptions of the Fuego Volcano in Guatemala, $26 million has been granted to five companies to reconstruct the affected road stretches.
Due to the state of Calamity decreed after the natural disaster, the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing (CIV) awarded emergency contracts to five companies that will be in charge of repairing the affected sections of National Route 14.
While in the US the number of man hours needed to build a house is 9.4 hours per square meter, in Costa Rica it takes between 40 and 60.
Low labor productivity, on top of the cost of building materials, social charges and high costs of other materials such as energy, are preventing firms from being more competitive in an industry where both end house prices for completed works and gray works, exceed those in neighboring countries.
The Guatemalan sugar industry has proposed the government to co-invest in the expansion of terminal facilities in order to increase capacity and make it more competitive.
In an attempt to improve the conditions of the port terminal and restore the competitiveness of Guatemalan exports, the guild of sugar millers is willing to invest in the expansion of Port Quetzal.
On December 21 Conservación Vial (Road Maintenance) published 65 tenders for the maintenance of 2,310 kilometers of unpaved roads and 75 for patching repair works to 3,880 kilometers.
The works comprise the entire national territory and according to the director of Road Maintenance (Covial), Stuart Gonzalez, awards are scheduled for next week.
Prensalibre.com reports that, "The haste in publishing the tenders, Gonzalez said, is because the maintenance plan and patching will start on January 15 in order to get the roads in good condition before winter.
The Government of Guatemala has announced a purchasing system with unified prices and without intervention from distributers .
In order to avoid differences in the prices paid by different state institutions "involved in the reconstruction process, both in Infrastructure as well as housing" for the required construction materials, a collaboration of manufacturers has been set up in order to get discounts of up to 40%, using direct purchases with the intervention of the usual intermediaries.
The destruction caused by the recent earthquake has raised questions about the lack of a unified seismic building code.
An article in Prensalibre.com reports that Luis Alvarez Valencia, vice president of the Institute of Cement and Concrete in Guatemala (ICCG), a member of the Guatemalan Association of Structural Engineering and Earthquakes (Agies), said "There is no building code combining all the rules in the country. "
The Asian giant has a vast and growing construction industry, that will amount to $700 billion in 2015, meaning significant opportunities for companies in the isthmus.
Baltodano Mauritius’ analysis focuses on the opportunities for Costa Rica companies in China in the spheres of Architecture, Engineering and Construction, but its concepts and conclusions can be extrapolated to the entire region.
President Molina has guaranteed that the cost of the works will be assumed under the law on state procurement and contracting, with transparency in the use of public resources.
The "Recovery Road Plan, Safe Highways" aims to recover 1,360 km. of highways and 4,300 km. of rural roads.
A press release from the Presidency of Guatemala states:
In order for the country's roads to be usable and safe President, Otto Perez Molina, accompanied by the vice president, Roxana Baldeti and minister of communications infrastructure and housing, Alejandro Sinibaldi, have launched the " Recovery Road Plan, Safe Highways ".
Irregularities in recruitment have led to the cancellation of 42 construction contracts that have already been awarded which total $192 million.
The new Minster of Housing, Alejandro Sinibalidi, referred at a press conference to the prevailing administrative disorder and lack of control of debt.
The new authorities will evaluate each of the works to revive the reconstruction plan.
The U.S. government and private sector investment will be used for rebuilding and equipping schools and health centers.
The $ 4.38 million grant from the U.S. Government and the $8.76 million contribution by the private sector will be used to rebuild 171 schools and 38 health centers damaged by natural disasters over the past year.
"The project was launched yesterday in the southern department of Escuintla, where they will repair several schools and health centers," said a diplomatic source from the U.S. Government to EFE.
The Official Journal publication´s of the Legislative Decree authorizes the Ministry of Finance to begin issuance.
During the remainder of 2010, the ministry expects to place about $ 37 million "to fund spending regarding effects from storm Agatha and the Pacaya volcano,” wrote Elperiodico.com.
The rest of the issuance will be placed in 2011 and will be used to purchase food and housing, among others.
The company will be responsible for overseeing the infrastructure which make up the Plan for Reconstruction.
Novotecni will be responsible for oversight of design, reconstruction of roads, building bridges and dredging of rivers by companies contracted by the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing.
The methodology used is the contractor submitting the project to the Ministry, this entity together with Novotecni analyzes it, and they will either approve or disapprove the construction, based on parameters from the "Blue Book" (building regulations applied in Guatemala) and international guidelines.
Congress approved a $ 210 million bond issuance with the purpose of rebuilding the country.
Recent natural disasters which have hit the country left damages for more than $ 1,500 million.
"The decision was adopted with 110 votes from a quorum of 133. Decree 53-2010 was approved with 4 amendments and stipulates that if the resources are not used this year, they may be included in the 2011 budget," wrote Kenia Reyes from Elperiodico.com.gt.
The Japanese loan will be used to improve the country's road infrastructure.
The cooperation agreement will be signed by President Alvaro Colom during his visit to Japan, the loan is for 25 years with a seven year grace period.
According to reports by Century XXI, "The visit of the Guatemalan president is focused on strengthening the economic, political and cooperation policies with Japan, one of the three major donors of the Central American country."