In Costa Rica, the Solis administration is trying to give the order to begin the construction and extension of 107 kilometers of the route to Limón, eventhough studies, permits and 1,200 expropriations have not yet been carried out.
President Luis Guillermo Solis could give the order to start work on Monday to the construction firm China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC), but the project has so many tasks and procedures still pending that it is difficult to understand how the construction company will be able to start work under the current conditions.
President Solis has personally announced that the environmental impact study for the expansion to four lanes of Route 32 to Limon has now been approved by the environmental authority.
Almost two months after the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (SETENA) rejected the study as "flawed and incomplete", the institution has now granted the approval, according to President Luis Guillermo Solís through his own social networks.
The Solis administration has announced that by the end of 2017 construction work will start on a dam to ensure a water supply for drinking and irrigation in Guanacaste.
The project to construct a dam on the River Piedras, in Bagaces, has remained on paper for almost thirty years.Estimated at $500 million, construction of the dam could be the solution to the problem of water shortages affecting one of the areas with the greatest tourist development.
The prospective candidate must have magician's skills, preferably qualifications as an engineer or lawyer, and a vocation to be a punching bag.
EDITORIAL
It's been two weeks since the resignation of the Minister in charge of Public Works and Transport in Costa Rica and President Solis has not yet announced who will fill the position. And there is no doubt that it will be very difficult to find not only the ideal candidate for the job, but also someone willing to accept such an impossible mission.
The government has announced plans to build a hospital in Turrialba, located 6 kilometers away from the one existing, with an estimated investment of $78 million.
From a statement issued by the presidency of Costa Rica:
CCSS ratifies new hospital project for community of Turrialba
The new center, with an investment of $78 million, will have more diagnostic and surgical capacity; and more specialties.
The private sector claims that $1900 million were approved by previous governments for public infrastructure projects which have not yet been executed by the Solís administration.
The Costa Rican Chamber of Construction (CCC) argues that there are projects pending implementation by the National Roads Authrity and Water and Sewage Department which were already approved under the previous administration that have not been carried out.
Once again conservationism is at the service of sectoral interests, paralyzing investment in infrastructure which is essential for halting the deteriorating competitiveness of the economy.
EDITORIAL
In Costa Rica an investment of billions of dollars to build a container port has been held up by six years of legal proceedings, and added to this will be a further 5 months due to maneuvers made by uncompromising conservationists in league with unionists.
The extension of the road to Limon and the construction of a refinery in Moin, both to be funded by the Chinese government, will be renegotiated by the Solis administration.
Two major projects in infrastructure which began under the Chinchilla administration are now being analyzed by the government of Solis, due to the criticism against the conditions imposed by the Chinese government for the provision of the $395 million for the expansion of the road from San Jose to Limon.
The president-elect has announced that it is a priority of his government to overhaul the country's road infrastructure, which will require investments of over $10 billion.
Costa Rica has a back log of 20 years worth of work in implementing the necessary road infrastructure to support the country's development.
With a geography that requires a lot of bridges, there are far fewer than necessary, and those few bridges that do exist are old and too narrow and have not been maintained. The highways are not able to deal with the rapid growth in the number of cars on the road and do not meet the needs of productive sectors, causing loss of competitiveness with the region and the world. Urban transport in the metropolitan area around the capital San José is terrible, requiring urgent solutions in terms of public transport.