Among the works scheduled in Costa Rica’s main airport is the extension of the remote ramp from its current 75,000 meters to 91,000 meters.
Next year San Jose International Airport will extend its operational capacity with new works, with an investment of $15 million.
Elfinancierocr.com quoted Luis Carlos Araya, Vice minister of Air Transport, who said "This allows us to streamline the process of entry and departure of aircraft both for cargo and passengers. In addition, it will improve efficiency, since aircraft will not have to be towed and can therefore enter on their own. "
A new satellite signal system, installed at the Juan Santamaria Airport in Costa Rica, will reduce the prohibitive zone of tall buildings in areas near the terminal.
Edwin Jimenez, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, said the municipalities of Alajuela and Belen will be affected by these changes, because in those places there is interest in constructing buildings with heights of over twenty meters.
The hangar used by Servicios Aeroindustriales will relocate from its current position to make room for the terminal expansion at Juan Santamaria International Airport.
After 15 years of discussions, the government of Costa Rica and Self-Management Cooperative Aeroindustriales Services (Coopesa) have reached a final agreement for the relocation of the hangar where aircraft maintenance services are provided, which until now has sat on the north side of the passenger terminal at the international Airport, preventing the necessary expansion of the Juan Santamaría.
$100 million of loans have been granted, paving the way for larger passenger capacity at Juan Santamaria Airport.
A press release from the Inter-American Development Bank reads:
Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica has successfully completed a three-year restructuring process and is preparing to more than double its passenger capacity after partnering with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
The Board of Directors of OPIC approved resources to support the expansion of the Juan Santamaría International Airport.
OPIC's loan will allow a consortium led by HAS Development Corporation (HASDC) to complete the renovation of the Juan Santamaría International Airport outside San Jose.
The project includes a terminal extension for immigration and customs procedures, waiting rooms and additional parking in remote areas.
The Costa Rican airport has now capacity to handle 3 million passengers a year.
Carlos Plass, chief executive of airport operator, Aeris Holding Costa Rica, spoke of expansion work, indicating that airline counters increased by 30% (from 58 to 78), immigration from12 seats to 28 and security check points doubled.
El Financiero´s web site reports, "In total, the airport now has 33,000 square meters, of which Aeris built about 11,500 in a year, while Alterra did 12,500 from 2001 through 2009."
Five and a half years later than planned, in November the expansion of Juan Santamaría airport will finally come to an end.
At this time the terminal will boast nine new embarkation bridges, five gates to the remote terminal and 4,920 square meters of additional boarding lounge space.
Though not part of the original contract, by November there will also be several cafés, two restaurants with a view of the runway and a public viewing terrace.
On April 28, the airport will inaugurate new boarding gates and 28 migration control stations.
All in all, the new building features 1.153 square meters of space.
Adolfo Lobo is part of the overseeing entity that controls if the company in charge of the works, Aeries, complies with the contract. He told newspaper La Prensa Libre that “this building was concluded one month before schedule, so the following projects may also begin earlier”.
A new migration building at Airport Juan Santamaría, in Costa Rica, is expected to open its doors on May 15.
28 passport control booths will be placed in the lower level of the new building, and 20 additional airline counters will be activated on the upper level. All in all, the new structure features 1.153 square meters of usable surface.
TACA’s CEO remarked that the company has postponed investments because the airport lacks the required infrastructure.
In a press conference, Roberto Kriete said he was ‘frustrated’ by not being able to install a flight connections hub in the Costa Rican airport.
“Kriete also complained for the lack of boarding gates for planes and jetways, long lines at migration services, and the delays caused to the company’s flights”.
The operator of International Airport Juan Santamaría changed its name to Aeris Holdings.
The announcement was made by Carlos Plass, Aeris' new executive director in a press release: "... the new partners not only wanted to, but also needed to change the former name...".
La Prensa Libre reports: "...the new leaders of the company explained that the project goes on according to schedule, and they guarantee they will finish the passenger terminal and Block C boarding areas by mid-2010. They mentioned that in 2011 they will deliver the boarding areas of Blocks D and E, effectively ending the second modernization phase of the airport".
Terminal's operator will use $45 million loan to refinance debt, carry out key infrastructure and service improvements
The Inter-American Development Bank approved a $45 million long-term loan to help finance the expansion of the Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José, Costa Rica, and support its new operator's plans to refinance debt.
The non-sovereign guaranteed loan will be made to Alterra Partners Costa Rica SA (APCR), the airport’s operating company, owned since July 2009 by Brazilian, Canadian and U.S. partners.
The Costa Rican government signed a contract giving the concession for the expansion of Daniel Oduber Airport, in Liberia, Guanacaste.
The project, which includes the construction of a two story building with a total area of 23,000 square meters, is in the hands of the consortium Coriport S.A., composed of by the firms MMM Aviation Group S. A., Houston Airport System, Emperador Pez Espada S.
Houston Airports Consortium said that it has $30 million and creditor banks for Alterra will provide $10 million to complete the work in phases one and two.
La Prensa Libre reported on its website: "This was announced yesterday by Karla González, Minister of Transport, and Jeff Scheferman, president of HASDC. They noted that the 'good news' is that they got funding for the continuation of the modernization project, at least in phases one and two, for the country's largest airport. These phases were abandoned by Alterra Partners, the current manager, due to lack of funding. Less than a month ago HASDC, which is seeking to replace Alterra, had offered $30 million of its own capital for the continuation of the project without taking into account financial closure from creditor banks and the IFC. However, the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) did not give the Civil Aviation Technical Council (Cetacean) permission to continue because it requested for the funding to be full, secure and constant."