The National Assembly approved a bill that aims to streamline the procedures for granting concessions for the development of yacht clubs and berths.
The deputies of the National Assembly approved on March 12 a new Law for the Development and Operation of Tourist Marinas that will stimulate the development of the tourism industry and encourage national and foreign investment, both public and private, in the water tourism sector, the government informed in a press release.
In El Salvador, the contract for the financing, design, construction and operation of the San Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International Airport Cargo Terminal is tendered under the Public-Private Partnership format.
The project contemplates two phases of development: Phase 1 consists of financing, design, expansion, construction, equipment, improvement of maintenance and operation of the existing Cargo Terminal.
Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica are the countries in the region with the best conditions to develop Public-Private Partnerships, followed by Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
The 2019 Infrascope index, which evaluates 23 indicators and 78 qualitative and quantitative sub-indicators in Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Latin America, is prepared by The Economist Intelligence Unit and has the financial backing of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The global relevance of companies seeking the award of a third port for container ships in the Pacific is a clear sign of the importance of Panama as maritime and logistics hub.
The companies pre-qualified to participate in the tender for the concession of a new port in Corozal are subsidiaries of the largest shipping companies such as Maersk-Denmark, MSC-Italy and CMA-CGM-France or are direct port operators, in this case the most important in the world, PSA from Singapore.
The Nicaraguan Oil Company has signed a cooperation agreement with a Canadian company for exploration of oil and gas.
Following the agreement signed between the company EastSiberian Plc, belonging to TMX Group in Canada and the National Oil Company of Nicaragua (Petronic) the Ministry of Energy and Mines has been approached in order to start negotiations for the subsequent signing of concession contracts.
The Nicaraguan government is preparing transport concessions which will be granted from 2015 to cover the route that will connect Costa Rica once the Las Tablillas-San Pancho border post is finished.
It is expected that in the first three months of 2015 the results will be ready of a study that will determine the number of buses needed to meet the demand of passengers emerging with the opening of the route between San Pancho and Las Tablillas.
The adoption of the amendments to the hydrocarbon law provides for the participation of the state run company Petronic in exploration activities and the ability to partner with other companies engaged in the activity.
The amended law authorizes Empresa Nicaragüense de Petróleo (Petronic) to represent the State in the exploration and exploitation of oil and "... make 'associations and partnerships with companies who come to explore and exploit hydrocarbons.'"
The Executive is proposing a reform of the law on exploitation of geothermal resources to extend the period of the concessions granted to foreign companies from 25 to 30 years.
In order to encourage investment in the energy sector, the reform of the "Law on Exploration and Exploitation of Geothermal Resources" , sent by President Daniel Ortega to Parliament also proposes increasing the extendable term requested from the State by companies with exploitation rights, from 10 to 30 years.
The concessionaires of the India and San Albino Murra mines are carrying out the feasibility studies needed to obtain approval to begin operations.
The India mine, owned by the concessionaire Condor Gold, is the one which is closest to operations, assuming the feasibility studies give good results.
Carlos Zarruck, Director of Mines at the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), said in an article on Laprensa.com.ni that "investment by the company in this area amounts to $150 million. "India Mine is the next industrial that could be the same size as El Limon mine or the Bonanza mine, in terms of exploitation," he added.
Through its subsidiary Cerro Colorado Power, the concessionaire of the project, Ram Power, expects to complete the paperwork to begin the operation by June.
After obtaining the grant for geothermal energy exploration in the Casita project in 2008, the company Ram Power is prepared to sign with the government of Nicaragua the contract for the operation of the project, estimated for midyear.
The Costa Rican government will ask the International Court of Justice to determine the border between the two countries in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Both countries have not reached an agreement over the delimitation of their maritime boundaries, and the recent decision by Nicaragua to tender exploration and exploitation of oil in Caribbean waters has alarmed the government of Costa Rica which has denounced Nicaragua for offering such licenses in areas that Costa Ricans consider belongs to them.
Given the perennial delay over Tumarín, Nicaragua is considering reactivating and concessioning the Copalar hydroelectric power project which has a capacity of 150 MW and a cost of $213 million.
This is one of the projects in the the Nicaraguan Government's contingency plan which will be undertaken instead of Tumarín, in the case that it does not come to fruition.
The construction and operation for 20 years of a container port in Isla Margarita, in Panama, is governed by a detailed concession agreement.
"... The ambitious port project will have three docks and will be located in an exclusive area of Colon, where it will compete with the terminals currently in operation in the Atlantic: Cristobal, Colon Container Terminal and Manzanillo International Terminal. "
Four awards have been made so far in the Caribbean and in the Pacific, to Noble Energy, Infinity Energy and Industrias Oklahoma Nicaragua.
According to the Minister of Energy and Mines (MEM), Emilio Rappaccioli, "the company Noble Energy, which between 2013-2015 will invest between $180 million and $670 million is at the moment making progress in drilling the first well, but in Nicaraguan waters" reported Elnuevodiario.com.ni .
The map on the internet which offered oil concessions in geographical areas who's sovereignty is disputed has been removed.
For its part, and after an exchange of notes between both governments, Colombia has acknowledged that the concessions given so far by Nicaragua are from areas where
Nicaraguan sovereignty has not been disputed.
"I want to be very clear and emphatic on this: the concessions granted by the government of Nicaragua in July this year are concessions that are west of the 82nd meridian," said Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin.