There is a risk to democracy when liberal state corporatism goes as far as to evade the rules of competition in order to benefit the gigantism of public enterprises.
EDITORIAL
An editorial published by Nacion.com reports on how the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) is insisting on giving contracts to the state run Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), this time to run supervisory tasks in a road building project.
The Ministry of Public Works of Costa Rica has been given authorization to hire, expeditiously and without calling a tender, services for the construction of the first phase of an office building for the entity, estimated at $12.5 million.
The first stage of construction includes the structural design and gray works at the building site. It has been reported that, according to the Association of Engineers and Architects, there are three companies who qualify for this work: Productos de Concreto, Escosa and Eurubaru. However, according to the decision of the Comptroller General of the Republic, any entity that meets the requirements can participate in the contest.
A group of Costa Rican construction companies insists with the proposal made to the previous administration to expand the 107 kilometer of the road to Limon at a cost lower than the Chinese option.
The five builders who suggested their plan to the former officials of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works are once again knocking on the doors of the institution, this time proposing that the current chief, Carlos Segnini, consider the initiative as an alternative to the loan from the government of China, of $465 million.
A previously called into question local company offered lower prices than international consortia who also submitted bids.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) has awarded to the consortium Hernan Solis-La Estrella the construction of the northern stretch of the ring road, at a cost of $141 million. Work will begin in the first months of 2015 and will take 18 months.
The first competition imposed tight deadlines for the submission of tenders, resulting in its abandonment due to lack of bidders.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has announced that in two weeks it will publish the tender for new designs for the reconstruction of three sections of Route 1856, on the border with Nicaragua.
In total, the cost for the design of the 160 kilometers of road on the border will reach $3 million.
The dismal state of public infrastructure in the country is in the hands of an institution that is "incapable of solving relatively ordinary problems".
Editorial
The minister of communication in the Chinchilla administration, Francisco Chacon, admitted that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) is an institution "unable to resolve relatively ordinary problems" with "decentralized bodies which are not accountable to the minister."
The contest will be published in the second half of this year and the funds will come from a loan granted by CABEI.
Funding for the works comes from a $340 million loan that the Government of Costa Rica signed this week with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).
The Northern Ring Road will be a 4-lane highway that will begin on Route 32 and continue west until reaching the intersection with Circunvalacion, opposite Burger King in La Uruca. The complete length of this section includes the largest viaduct built in the country, at 3.8 kilometers long, between the intersection of Route Guapiles and a sector close to Leon XIII, in Tibás.
The works comprise the renovation of road surfaces, and construction of bridges and storm drains on major routes in the area.
From the press release by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport:
The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) and the National Roads Authority (CONAVI) has intensified repair works on road surfaces and bridge building on major roads in the Southern Zone, where it has invested a total of ¢13.448 million ($ 27 million) from the Road Fund.
With an investment of $115 million, the Ministry of Public Works has resumed the Northern ring-road construction project in San Jose and hopes to put it out to tender next year.
The northern section of the ring road will be completed in two stages, the first will be on the La Uruca-Route 32 stretch and the second on the section between Route 32-Calle Blancos.
As of August, the Ministry of Public Works will be putting out to tender works for the expansion to four lanes of the North American highway between Cañas and Liberia.
The works to be carried out on the stretch of road from Cañas to Liberia, are for a length of 50.610 kilometers (fifty kilometers, six hundred and ten meters), starting at Km 166 +300 (approximately 600 meters before Rio Canas) and ending at Km 216 +910 (approximately 600 meters after Quebrada Piches).
A study of the condition of streets and roads around the country reveals that 15% must be completely redone.
Total reconstruction, repair or mild maintenance works. This is what 100% of the streets and roads of Costa Rica's highway system need, according to a study by the National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models (LANAMME).
Of all the country's roads, 60% need maintenance, 25% require some degree of repair or reconstruction, while the remaining 15% must be rebuilt.
The Ministry of Public Works has awarded the construction of 28 bridges that are part of a $495 million batch of projects promoted by the Government.
The bridges will be built over four domestic routes (247, 249, 138 and 733).
The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Francisco Jiménez Reyes added that "everything is ready to put out to tender a second set of bridges for domestic routes: RN112 San Isidro-Heredia (six bridges), RN18-Nicoya Tempisque (two bridges) and RN14 RioClaro-Golfito (six bridges), unlike the first set, these 14 structures will have two lanes", noted an article on the web portal of La Prensa Libre.
There are too many attorneys and too few engineers on the staff of the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Works.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT in Spanish) appears to have no solution to the obvious lagging behind of Costa Rica in terms of public infrastructure. The Ministry, which upon completion of the first year of the Chinchilla administration, exhibits very few projects in progress and too many initiatives still in the design and approval process.
The government is planning to invest $120 thousand per kilometer in the Varablanca highway, one of the country's most important routes for tourism.
The Ministry for Public Works and Transport (MOPT in Spanish) is to rebuild the roads worst affected by the January 2009 earthquake.
Writing for La Nación, Vanessa Loaiza reports that, "not only does the $661 thousand investment cover the earth works and resurfacing of 5.5 km stretch of highway, it will also include the piping for drainage of rainwater". The works are to be carried out by the company MECO.