Meanwhile, the terms for Limón's port bidding process should have been published on August 21st.
Francisco Jiménez is the Executive President of Japdeva, the organization negotiating with the government and the worker's Union the private concession of the port. He said: "We are going to keep pressing for an agreement. We will not give up until a worker assembly decides, in secret voting, if they accept the Government's proposal".
Leadership from the Limón port workers union have so far opposed all offers from the government.
The union known as Sintrajab, which reunites workers from state-owned Japdeva, is in a standoff with the Costa Rican Government, regarding the concession of operation and administration of the ports to a private entity. Said conflict could be solved with a referendum among the workers, as 52% of Japdeva employees requested a secret vote to define whether the concession is accepted or not.
The main question from investors is whether concession of the new port in the Costa Rican Caribbean includes the existing facilities.
The Costa Rican government´s response to this issue is that the processes are independent. The future of the existing facilities depends on the JAPDEVA union coming to an agreement with the government over the amount and nature of worker compensation, which has not yet been reached.
The new Costa Rican government's proposal was rejected by the union, whose consent must be obtained for the concession of services to third parties.
The collective agreement that governs the relationship between Limón Port employees and JAPDEVA, the entity manager, has the force of law. Therefore, any project to hire third parties to perform tasks at the port must be formally approved by the union.
The cartel was published today in the Gazette, the official newspaper of Costa Rica, starting the concession process of the Limón Port.
The cartel for the $812 million project, which was approved last week by the National Concession Council (CNC), is to be awarded this year.
The president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Exporters (CADEXCO), Monica Araya, told Elfinancierocr.com that the cartel will be reviewed by an expert committee to determine a respective position. It must be remembered that CADEXCO has expressed concerns about the possibility that the process will end up in the hands of a single operator."
The cartel for the concession of the expansion of the Costa Rican Caribbean Port, with a reference amount of $812 million, was approved.
The Minister of Transport and Public Works of Costa Rica, Karla González, announced that the cartel for the tender of the Limón port project was approved, and it is expected to be published in the official newspaper in the coming days, giving bidders three months to submit their proposals.
The concession for the construction and operation will be offered by means of a sole process, and not fragmented as was speculated.
The idea of a process with several bidders had been supported by business unions such as the Chamber of Exporters of Costa Rica. This decision by the Costa Rican government goes against that idea, for which Minister Karla González had requested that businesspersons reflect on the theme to achieve a consensus on the issue.