Parking tower blocks, residential developments, hydraulic works, hotels and office buildings are some of the projects for which environmental impact studies were submitted in June.
The report "Construction Projects in Costa Rica - June 2015", prepared by the Business Intelligence unit at CentralAmericaData.COM, contains a detailed list of major construction projects for which environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies were presented to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) in June.
The private sector claims that excessive paperwork and the lack of technical personnel in the Ministry of Environment is delaying the assessment of environmental impact studies and the granting of building permits.
According to the Guatemalan Chamber of Construction, the slowness with which the studies are evaluated and permits granted to construction companies is preventing projects being carried out in the medium-term and moving towards recovery of the sector.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in Guatemala is one of the institutions that is holding up construction projects by issuing licenses up to two years late.
At the moment the process of obtaining a license takes from 6 months to 2 years, depending on the size of the project. This has been the subject of discussions aimed at achieving reform in order to counter this problem.
An Environmental Impact Study has been presented for improvements to the RN-01 highway in the town of San Mateo, Department of Quetzaltenango.
The company Mantenimiento Vial y Construcción S.A. has presented an environmental impact study for the improvement works on the RN-01 highway, Rotonda La Licorera Estación 204+300 - Estación San Juan Ostuncalco, Estación 214 + 300, in the town of San Mateo, Department of Quetzaltenango.
An environmental impact study has been presented for a road improvement project of 40.7 kilometers of the highway leading to Puerto Quetzal, with an estimated cost of $74 million.
The General Department of Roads, Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing has presented an EIS to improve 40.7 miles of the CA-9 South road between Escuintla and Puerto Quetzal.
Preparations are being made for the renovation and expansion of 41 kilometers of the route between the department of Santa Rosa and Jutiapa, estimated at $45 million.
The General Department of Roads at the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing has presented the Environmental Impact Study for the renovation and extension of 41 kilometers of route CA-8 between Oratorio and Valle Nuevo, near the border with El Salvador.
The shysters who live off government paperwork have reacted with alarm to the agility of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources regarding permits for Minimum Environmental Impact Activities.
Editorial
An article on Plazapública.com.gt reports that until very recently, "... there were only three ways of classifying Environmental Instruments.
A mining group plans to invest $27 million in a specialized port in Izabal which will have the capacity to move half a million tonnes of nickel per year.
Businessmen linked to the mining industry, and especially to Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN), could be investing $27 million in the construction of a port to move half a million tonnes of nickel per year.
Progress is being made on an environmental law which establishes regulations to prevent and respond to climate change threats.
The Framework Law to Regulate the Reduction of Vulnerability, Compulsory Adaptation to the Effects of Climate Change and Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases creates a National Council as a regulating body and will be represented by members of the government, rural organizations, municipalities, and environmentalists in addition to the private sector.
Guatemalan Entrepreneurs are asking for the consultations with communities about the environmental impact of mining and infrastructure projects to be regulated.
The Guatemalan Chamber of Industry (CIG) and the Union of Extractive Companies (GEE) has proposed the creation of a regulation governing community consultations, believing that these should be one more indicator in the approval process, and should not be binding in nature.
Technical assistance and training will be provided for the public institutions who will be involved in the implementation of the agreement.
"AA-Integration Project" will take place in a period of 80 months with a $11.6 million investment, of which $9.1 million will be provided by the European Union and the rest by the Guatemalan government.
The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Guatemala.
The Spanish company Talent Ingeniería, Instalaciones y Servicios S.L., had been awarded the construction of phase 2 of the plant 's wastewater treatment plant area in San Benito, Petén .
The note sent by the Controller General of Accounts (CGC) to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources , Roxana Sobenes, which recommends cancelling the process reveals " ...
In 2012 there were 65 million gallons of ethanol, 80% of which were exported for the development of biofuels, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
The remaining 20% (13 million gallons), remained in the country and was used for the production of alcoholic beverages. One of the industries specializing in the production of alcohol as fuel "is the Bio-Ethanol Distillery, which produces neutral anhydrous ethyl using molasses.
It has been estimated that between southern Petén and northern Izabal there is one of the largest nickel reserves in the world.
"The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) estimates that although at the moment the area of Izabal has only small projects, in the next few years there will be a mining complex because of the large mineral reserves, which would place Guatemala among the top five producers the world,"noted an article in Elperiodico.com.gt.
The Ministry of Environment of Guatemala has presented a new system to reduce the average time of processing from three months to one day.
The FastTrack Counter at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), functions as an expedited service, efficiently and effectively, to develop initial environmental assessments where environmental impact is minimal, with a maximum response time of 24 hours.