The new regulations govern how the private sector can participate in the construction of public infrastructure in the country.
From a statement issued by the Panamanian Chamber of Construction:
For the first time Costa Rica has a regulation on the public-private partnerships scheme, which aims to strengthen partnerships between these two sectors, to promote public works and services, having direct impact on economic recovery, job creation and also to create conditions to continue deal with the back log in infrastructure.
The OECD has warned that "underinvestment" in infrastructure is a critical element that inhibits the country's ability to trade.
An analysis of the degree of market opening by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), showed positive and negative results, with the most noteworthy among the favorable being an annual increase of 9% in the volume of exports of goods between 1994 and 2013 and a reduction in tariffs and negotiation of free trade agreements.
The Environmental Technical Secretariat of Costa Rica has suspended works in the pit which was to provide material to APM Terminals to build the port in Moin.
On top of the long list of obstacles that have impeded the progress of the construction of the new port in the Costa Rican Caribbean, the Technical Environmental Secretariat has stopped work on the the pit in La Asuncion, in response to a request by Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA) for a revocation, claiming that "... the expropriations in the Banana River, located near the Cerro La Asunción, threaten the water supply in the province of Limón."
The World Bank has agreed to maintain funding for some of the works that make up the project to modernize the infrastructure of the port and the city for $72 million.
After having rejected the request to extend the loan for $72 million made by the administration of Luis Guillermo Solís, the World Bank has agreed to review the conditions of the loan and maintain funding only for certain works of the project, which will be defined by the entity depending on what state of advance they are in.
Pending the approval of the environmental study for the megaproject, APM Terminals has announced that construction will begin in March 2014.
The first stage of construction in the first quarter of 2014 will be of the 600 meter long quay and 40 hectares of paved container yard, plus 12 entrances out of a total of 24 that were planned to be built.
Rogelio Douglas, project manager of APM Terminals said everything is ready to start construction.
The failure in this country of a model which is successful in others, can be reversed with more efficiency in tender processes and improving the promotion of the projects.
The inability to properly promote and explain the format explains in part its failure in country.
While in other countries these kinds of concessions have proven to be one of the best formats for the development of public works, the mere mention of the word generates negative reactions in Costa Rica from a major part of the population.
A legal action challenging the constitutionality of granting in concession of Moin Container Terminal argues that it should be approved by the Costa Rican Congress.
The Constitutional Court has dismissed the action against the General Law on Concession of Public Works and the contract for extending the design, construction and operation of the Moin Container Terminal (TCM by its initials in Spanish), presented by the Union of Workers at the Administrative Board for the Port and Economic Development of the Atlantic Coast (Sintrajap).
The event organized by Latin Markets will be held in Panama from 28th to 29th of January 2014.
The event, organized by Latin Markets, will include the participation of 60 experts in the field, who will talk about how companies can participate in the development of dozens of key infrastructure projects in the region.
Participating employers will have access to more than 300 executives and experts in the subject through business meetings with companies involved in the industry.
The 1,875 passengers on the Island Princess had to dodge trucks entering and leaving the docks in Costa Rica.
"It's terrible that we have to walk in between trucks and cargo transportation services," said the Canadian Brenda Seguin to La Nacion. "I have not seen this anywhere else, at least not like this," she reiterated.
In addition to this problem, the pavement which tourists have to walk on is very run down and the place where artisan crafts are sold is made up of makeshift tents under which it is extremely hot.
With an investment of $460 million, the Van Oord-BAM consortium will be responsible for the construction of the container terminal in Limon, Costa Rica.
In a press release, APM Terminals, the global concessionaire of the project, reported that the new terminal will handle 80% of maritime trade in Costa Rica, and will generate 400 new direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs.
Among the causes identified are high operating costs and poor terminal infrastructure for tourists.
For the cruise season which begins on October 16 and ends on May 30, 2014 only 60 boats are expected to arrive at the port. Data provided by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), reveals that while in the 2008-09 season 127 cruise ships arrived, in the 2011-12 season only 71 came.
The momentum in this sector needs more services and port infrastructure in order to consolidate and join the global growth of this industry.
The region needs to improve port infrastructure in order to be able to receive the new boats which are becoming bigger and bigger and with this take advantage of the 20% growth that is projected in the next season.
In the 2010-2011 season the number of cruise ships that docked at the port of Limon fell by 41% compared to the 2011-2012 season.
During the last season 117 vessels loaded with tourists docked at Limon, whereas this year only 69 arrived.
The prospects for next season are set to get worse, with only 59 cruises scheduled to arrive.
Allan Hidalgo, CEO of the Board of Port Administration and Economic Development of the Atlantic (Japdeva), explains that the high cost of fuel and the lack of infrastructure and tourist services in the port and the city of Limon are the main causes of the problem.
Of the $80 million funding for the ‘Ciudad-Puerto‘ (Port City) project at Limon, Costa Rica, only 3.3% has been spent in the past three years.
The effect of the $80 million investment spent on public infrastructure such as sewers, street furniture, pedestrian crossings and flood controls, should be extraordinary in Limon, the port city of Costa Rica, which is characterized by its poverty and lack of opportunities for its inhabitants.
Production and logistics inefficiencies arising from their small size means that small scale producers have profit margins that are 19% lower than those of large companies.
An article in Elfinancierocr.com, comments on the ECLAC study "Panorama of the integration of Latin America and the Caribbean 2011-2012",which states that "logistics is a key dimension that influences the competitiveness of enterprises and their inclusion in value chains. "