In Costa Rica, exporters insist that rates be renegotiated at the Moin Container Terminal, since currently the cost of moving a container at that terminal exceeds by about $207 what was paid at the Japdeva docks.
The operator of the port of Limón in Costa Rica, is seeking to diversify its business focusing on conventional cargo handling, in order to compensate for the losses it will face when APM Terminals 's container port comes into operation.
Serving as port of departure for more Nicaraguan exporters and transporting more iron and vehicles are two of the objectives that make up the strategy envisioned by Japdeva, the concessionaire of the port of Moín, in Limón, which they intend to follow over the next few years.
APM Terminals will have until October to comply with the requirements and outstanding permits to begin construction of the container port in the Costa Rican Caribbean.
Through a consensus among the three parties (Japdeva, National Concessions Council and APM Terminals) it has been agreed to extend for a period of three months the suspension agreed last April.
Two mobile scanners for inspecting containers, with a value of $6 million, have been abandoned and left to deteriorate outside for three years.
Now the manufacturer, the Chinese company Nuctech, will be responsible for repairing and maintaining the two X-ray machines which are valued at $6 million and were donated by their Government and which have been damaged after being abandoned for three years.
Despite the promise brought by the development of several projects in the next five years, in Costa Rica the province of Limon is not prepared for the challenges of such investments.
Starting with education and training of the workforce that will be required by the construction and operation of mega projects like the Moin Container Terminal (TCM by its initials in Spanish), there are a number of issues where the poorest province of Costa Rica has major deficiencies, but until now only a few advances have been made in the task of solving them.
Costa Rica is not obligated to compensate the concession holder APM Terminals if the minimum load volumes estimated in the contract are not met.
An article in Nacion.com reports that Carolina Murillo Alvarez, an economist at the Regulatory Authority for Public Services (Aresep), "said that the State is not required to indemnify APM Terminals (concessionaire of the docks), if the estimated minimum load volumes in the contract are not reached."
The National Tender Board (CNC in Spanish) has notified the company APM Terminals which has a maximum of 18 months to begin the construction of the new Moin Container Terminal (MCT), in the Caribbean, Costa Rica.
After the deadline, APT Terminals has 36 months to complete the works on this terminal which will allow servicing and boarding of container vessels.
The original announcement was published at the end of December 2011, with a deadline for submission of bids on Feb. 16th; a new deadline runs until April 16th, 2012.
The Consejo Nacional de Concesiones de Costa Rica (CNC), convened the International Public Tender N ° 2011LI-000001-00200, for the "Contracting for overseeing of the design, execution of works and equipment of the public works concession with public services for the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the container terminal of Moin (TCM). "
Legal security of certain investments may be in doubt if arguments put forward by the Legislature regarding decision-making powers of award of state property thrive.
Citing as a justification the text of Article 140, paragraph 19 of the Constitution of Costa Rica, the President of the Legislative Branch, Juan Carlos Mendoza, has expressed his conviction that it is the Legislative Assembly which is responsible for approving the concession award for a container terminal at the port of Moin.
The cost of exporting a container using Costa Rican ports is the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The recently released Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum indicates that Costa Rica has moved down five places from last year in the global ranking based on port infrastructure. The report reviewed a total of 142 countries, and this year Costa Rica is ranked 137.
Noting that the port services provided in Costa Rica are currently inefficient, an appeal has been filed in favour of granting the concession for the new container terminal in Moin.
Following complaints presented by the National Chamber of Banana Workers and the Union of Workers from Japdeva, the National Chamber of steamship owners and Agents (NAVE in spanish) has filed with the Administrative Court a request help in favor of the defendants.
After an arduous process, the government of Costa Rica has signed a concessionary award to Dutch run APM Terminals for the construction of the port and its management for a period of 30 years.
APM Terminal's investment will be $950 million, and they will have a period of 3 years to build a container port in Moin on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, north of the existing port facilities.
With the deadline for signing the contract, the 26 August, nearly reached, the government and opposition factions are sticking to their positions.
Laura Chinchilla's government is holding firm its intention to grant a concession to the company APM Terminals but has yet to resolve two complaints filed by the National Chamber of Banana Workers and Japdeva Workers Union (Sintrajap).
The project consists of a specialized port for the transshipment of containers with an operating area of 45 hectares, and a cost of $950 million.
A press release of the Presidency of the Republic of Costa Rica reads:
Vice President Liberman stressed the importance of getting "the green light to start the tender process, which will generate more employment in the country, mainly in the port area"
Despite the delays, modernization initiatives are emerging as potential positive signals for the Costa Rican ports.
The ports of Moin and Limon, two gateways of international trade into the country, are lagging behind compared to other ports in the region and Latin America.
So far, attempts to modernize the ports, such as the recent concession to APM Terminals, have faced many obstacles, introduced mostly by the workers union of the Board of Port Administration and Economic Development of the Atlantic Slope (Japdeva).