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.
The current airport on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica is easily flooded and lacks the necessary conditions for being an international terminal.
The abundant rainfall characteristic of the area often causes waters to flood the runway of the international airport, leaving it inoperative.
Now, an area has been identified which is "a flat, large unobstructed area west of the current terminal which could have the necessary characteristics for the new project."
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.
The area related to the Port of Limon now has its own Promotion Agency, with private and public operators, and an investment guide to promote its development.
The Agency for the Development of Limon is presented as "a nonprofit joint entity of public utility made up of entrepreneurs, chambers, universities, government agencies and civil society to develop the potential of the economy of Limon and improve the competitiveness of enterprises ", which has as its mission" to promote socio-economic development, through joint planning, coordination, training and dissemination across sectors involved in the development of Limon. "
The technical proposal by APM Terminals was accepted, while the financial terms, $246 per container, must still be approved.
The deadline the National Concession Council had to decide whether to accept or reject the proposal made by APM Terminals had expired on December 23. The analysis on the proposal is now expected to be finalized in January when a decision will be made.
Construction of the Limon Free Zone, located close to the Búfalo locality, will start in October.
Its infrastructure will be developed by Guanazul JRV S.A., explained Marcela Brooks, legal head at Costa Rica’s exports promotion authority (Procomer).
“This corporation is negotiating with foreign companies looking to operate under the free zone regime, although Brooks didn’t revealed any names”, reported Elfinancierocr.com.
Costa Rica's Caribbean, for many years left behind in the country's construction boom, is now taking the lead.
The province of Limón still doesn't have construction figures similar to those shown by Guanacaste or San José before the crisis, nor construction activity is higher there than in other regions of the country. What is remarkable is that while the sector experiences negative growth in the rest of the country, new buildings in Limón increased 11% during the first four months of 2009, which means 73% more square meters built than in 2008.
The contract for the $80 million loan for the "Ciudad Puerto Limón" project, which represents a significant investment designated for infrastructure projects, was ratified.
The funds will be invested over a period of five years and they will be designated for projects such as sewer and restoration work, among others, in order to promote tourism in the city.
The new stretch of highway will shorten the distance between the Atlantic ports of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
The $60 million were loaned by the Andean Promotion Corporation (CAF) and they are intended for the "Atlantic Corridor Investment Program," which includes projects in Bajos of Chilamate and Vuelta Kooper (the stretch of highway between Limón and Nicaragua,) and a new bridge over the Sixaola River on the border with Panama.
The Southern Caribbean Tourism Chamber and the United Committee of Talamanca and the Southern Caribbean petitioned the Municipality to invest more in the zone.
The president of the Chamber of Tourism, Rolando Soto, said that there are urgent needs for the region to fix roads, water and sewage treatment plants and to improve drinking water services.
The rains that are battering the country's Caribbean coast since last weekend have already caused millions of dollars in losses to banana farms.
Even though the waters have still not going down, farmers from Matina, Siquirres and a section of Sixaola confirmed that during the next 10 months they will not be able to export 3 million boxes of banana.
Preliminary losses are at $21 million; some 10,000 jobs for unskilled laborers are at risk of being lost.
The Costa Rican Call Center Datascension has moved to Limón in hopes that worker turnover in the Caribbean center will be less than it was in the capital.
The saturation of call centers in the Central Valley was a big factor to encourage Datascension to look for opportunities outside the capital.
The company decided to try its luck in Limón, a province on the Caribbean with good potential because many of its citizens speak English.
Although Costa Rica continues to be regarded as a development success story, recent years have
seen the emergence of significant challenges for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction.
Costa Rica still combines a long tradition of political stability with indicators that outstrip regional
averages in terms of economic growth, governance and social development. Since 1980, growth in per
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