The Costa Rican government plans to apply to the CABEI for a loan to finance maintenance work on 500 bridges of the national road network and other works.
The loan that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) will apply to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) would be ready in May, and would be under the direct financing modality.
The General Comptroller of Costa Rica partially approved the $20.7 million trust fund for the San José-San Ramón road corridor.
In a document published on the General Comptroller website on October 10th of this year, it was reported that the approval is given to the trust fund for this road work that consists of the modernization of a 60 kilometer stretch of road between San Jose and San Ramon.
The CABEI has approved a $425 million loan to finance a water supply project in three cantons in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) reported that the funds will be used to finance construction of hydraulic, civil and mechanical structures to achieve the multiple purpose of providing water for irrigation, water for human consumption and future generation of energy.
In Costa Rica, the Alvarado administration has asked the BCIE for a loan of $425 million to finance a water supply project in three cantons in Guanacaste.
The project consists in the construction of 300 new kilometers of water channels in the cantons of Santa Cruz, Nicoya and Carrillo, which will cover a potential area of 18,800 hectares.It also contemplates construction of the reservoir on thePiedras River and works on the dam to generate hydroelectric power.
The government of Costa Rica wants to develop the project with the help of a private partner, who would contribute $1.3 billion for construction, among other things, of the new railway, wiring, tunnels and monitoring systems.
The project to build a rapid train service connecting Alajuela to Cartago, and which would fix the transportation problem affecting the Greater Metropolitan Area, requires a total investment of close to $2 billion, of which $1.3 billion would have to be contributed by a private company, through means of a concession for both the construction and operation of the line.
In Costa Rica, six out of eight banks are opposed to the possibility of lending the $35 million required to finance technical studies for a new highway between San José and San Ramón.
Nacion.com reports that "... Since November 29, the Bank of Costa Rica, administrator of the trust for the highway, knocked on the doors of Banco Nacional, BAC San José, Davivienda, Banco Internacional de Costa Rica (BICSA), the Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) and Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) to raise the money. However, those institutions rejected the request for different reasons."
With a loan from the IDB, plans are underway to carry out road renovation works on the cantonal road network, especially in the areas affected by storm Nate in 2017.
For the 61 projects in the first stage ofPRVC II, the MOPT estimatesholding approximately 12 tenders, each of which will include between four and five projects. As part of a second stage, around 64 projects will be worked on, which correspond to about 41 million dollars and are currently in the analysis phase.
The BCIE will be financing restoration works on the National Theater, which include renovating the electricity system and modernizing the facilities in general.
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) announced that "... financing will allow the development of a program consisting of investments for an active and passive fire protection system, renovation of the electricity system for greater security and modernization of the stage enclosure, mechanization of the stage, sound aspects, lighting aspects and installation of an acoustic shell, in addition to giving independence to the administrative offices and warehouses, excluding them from the main building of the Theater."
After having invested $15 million in the construction of the main conduit, the agricultural irrigation project that was supposed to bring water to farms in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, has not been completed due to lack of funds.
In July 2017 the agricultural irrigation project called "second stage of the southern channel" was inaugurated, which consisted in the construction of a main water pipeline measuring 32 kilometers in length.The works that are located in the province of Guanacaste, required an investment of $15 million which was financed with a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).
The state insurer could be willing to invest up to $500 million in road construction projects that already have their pre-design and studies ready.
The offer by Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) applies only for projects designated as "mature", that is to say, those that already have all the approved permits and pre-designs.The problem with this requirement, according to the executive director of the Federated College of Engineers and Architects (CFIA), is that planning problems faced by Conavi and the Ministry of Public Works make it impossible to meet this requirement."..."Unfortunately, it's not the way the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) and Conavi have been working," Vargas said."
The Costa Rican Congress decided not to approve a $500 million loan that the state run power company wants to take out with the IDB to finance geothermal power generation projects in the country.
The deputies argued that they were not clear about the financial situation of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), which would receive the loan, for which the State would act as guarantor.The decision to halt the loan approval comes two days after President Solis announced he is facing a liquidity crisis.
Public companies from Italy, Spain, China and Switzerland have expressed interest in taking part in the proposed implementation of an urban electric train system.
Carlos Vargas, president of the Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (Incofer) confirmed with Nacion.com an interest on the part of foreign public companies and noted that"... for now we can not give out details of the persons concerned or the type of partnership that could be used to operate the transport system, as they are awaiting the results of a prefeasibility study."
38% of total bank lending corresponds to housing construction, while 35% is used for buying new homes.
Data from the housing loan portfolio in the domestic financial system shows that the proportion of loans requested by Costa Ricans to build their homes is higher than loans used to buy existing homes.
Elfinancierocr.com explains that"...The Costa Rican financial system has a balance of credits which were used for housing amounting to ¢4.6 billion.This amount represents 25% of all outstanding loans in the country (¢ 18 billion). For housing construction, the balance is ¢1.75 billion and, for the purchase of new homes, it is ¢1.62 billion.Both lines represent 73% of the total."
A $224 million loan from the Japanese government will be used to build the Borinquen I geothermal plant, which will start operating in 2023 with an installed capacity of 55 MW.
The agreement of understanding signed between the governments of Costa Rica and Japan includes the construction program, the investment scheme and procurement plan, among other technical, legal, environmental and financial aspects.
The CABEI will lend the $70 million needed to complete construction of the 1.3 kilometer section of the Circumnavigation Road.
The $70 million estimated as the cost of construction of the last stretch of 1.3 kilometers which is part of the 5.6 kilometers of the new road, will be financed by the CABEI.
Nacion.com reports that "...The state only has $147 million to finance the construction of 4.3 kilometers between La Uruca and the intersection of Route 32. The conclusion of the ring road is a task which has been pending for more than 40 years."