Almost a year after the regulation for the commercial use of drones entered into force in the country, there are only four companies registered with the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.
Since February 14th, 2018, companies using drones for commercial purposes in Costa Rica must pay $1,874 to obtain the exploitation certificate. So far, few companies in this business have initiated the permit process.
In Nicaragua, entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector have reiterated the benefits that this technology brings in terms of competitiveness, and insist on clear rules for their use.
Fumigating at lower costs and improving surveillance of planted areas are some of the benefits that drones provide for agricultural activities. An example of this is the data provided by the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua (Upanic), whose representatives say that with a drone, the cost of spraying a manzana (7,042.25 m2 = 1.74 acres) of crops is 20 cents, well below the $3 it costs using traditional methods.
Starting from February 14, companies that use drones for commercial purposes in Costa Rica must pay $1,874 to obtain a certificate of operations.
The regulation set by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) was published on June 8, 2017 in the newspaper La Gaceta, and states that "...Operations with remotely piloted aircraft systems, intended for aerial services for the commercialization of products or services obtained through remuneration, may only be carried out by natural or legal persons who have a certificate of exploitation ... ".
A group of private companies led by agricultural entrepreneurs is preparing a bill that regulates the use of drones for economic activities.
Representatives of the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua (UPANIC), which leads the group of business chambers that have prepared the proposal, explained that as part of the process they reviewed the regulation on drones that exists in other Central American countries, to "... take the best parts of each of those laws and make a very good proposal to the government."
A bill that is being discussed in Congress prohibits drones operating in controlled airspaces and at a height of greater than 122 meters.
The reform to the Aeronautics Law also proposes "... prohibiting the use of drones more than 43 meters above ground level under controlled airspace or within a radius of five kilometers of a runway or a kilometer in length from a helicopter. "
The new regulation establishes that companies that use drones for commercial purposes must have a certificate of exploitation, whose cost could be around $1,500.
The regulation published by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) was published on June 8 in the newspaper La Gaceta, and will come into effect on August 13 this year.
The business sector is proposing to the government that regulations be made more flexible and that the use of drones over 100 feet high be allowed in agricultural, tourism and construction activities.
Businessmen from the construction sector argue that currently they have to rent a helicopter in order to take pictures and videos of works in development, the same as in the agricultural sector, where the inability to use drones raises costs in activities such as crop fumigation.
Users and importing companies claim that the process to register with the Civil Aeronautics Directorate is slow, and that there are few incentives to register this kind of equipment.
As in other countries in the region and around the world, the use of drones in Guatemala is no longer for entertainment purposes only, but also commercial, particularly in agricultural activities, construction, and events such as concerts and other activities.
A proposal has been made in Nicaragua to make the rules on the use of drones more flexible in order to reduce costs in activities such as spraying of agricultural plantations.
According estimates by UPANIC, up to $40 per acre could be saved in the fumigation of plantations using drones.
The controversial charge of $1,874 to certify commercial use of drones has been suspended for a period of six months while the Attorney General decides on its legality.
The suspension of the charge applies to all commercial users of drones for a period of six months.At the same time, the government has announced a differentiated regime for micro enterprises registered as such with the MEIC, meaning that they are exempted from the payment of $1,874 for certification.
The total value of the use of drone technology in the future in agriculture is estimated at $32 billion and in infrastructure services, the figure is more than $45 billion.
A comprehensive report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers points to the business potential of the drones market and the application of this technology in different productive sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, services, telecommunications, transportation, safety and mining, among others.
We are a Video Security Product development & supply company.
Organization that operates in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua and United States of América
Phone: (1) 2047837366 - (1) 2049901580
We are a Video Security Product development & supply company.
The government affects the activity with bureaucratic costs of more than $3,500 for companies who want to use drones.
While in the US there is an online registration process where companies and individuals pay only $5, in Costa Rica the Directorate General of Civil Aviation does not seem to be interested in encouraging the market. An investigation of Elfinancierocr.com reveals that $1,874 has to be paid to obtain certification and to commercially operate the drones, plus $94 per license, an insurance policy for liability and damage to third parties (which is around $1,800), and a course taken whose price varies depending on the school teaching it.
Increased demand has been reported of the commercial use of drones in the country, where 15 formal enterprises are engaged in importing and marketing of these products.
In addition to the 15 formal companies that sell drones, it is estimated that there are approximately 25 informal companies. Demand for these devices have evolved and they are now used for photography, TV commercials, property appraisals and recording social events.
O4Bi is a system that allows to control and manage what a company needs: the complete process of development of works, accounts receivable, treasury, banks, sales and accounting.
O4Bi is a very robust system that allows to control and...
español
2354