By Leland Baxter-Neal
A group of developers has announced plans to build a $3 million boardwalk and promenade along the length of Jacó’s beach.
Pat Hundley, founder of the Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce and owner of Daystar Properties, Jacó’s most prolific condominium developer, made the announcement Tuesday at the chamber’s semi-monthly, town hall-style community meeting.
Speaking to about 40 people, including Garabito Mayor Marvin Elizondo and other members of the municipality, Mr Hundley went line-by-line through the chamber’s 2008 budget, which totals $277,860 in spending.
Of that, $100,000 is earmarked for “safety and security,” and another $50,000 is to be spent on public sewer and water projects and regional marketing.
The promenade and boardwalk will be funded privately, apart from the Chamber of Commerce’s works.
“The promenade will be a private gift to the city from Daystar and a couple investors from the area,” Mr Hundley later told The Beach Times.
A $25,000 topographical study of the beach was expected to be finished late this week, the first step toward getting the project built.
According to Mr Hundley, beachfront streets that already exist would be improved and widened to make a boulevard, and then connected to a pedestrian promenade that would follow along the beach where there are no roads.
Mr Hundley estimated the promenade could be anywhere from eight to 14 feet wide, built with brick pavers or other decorative materials, and would be on the beach side of the palm trees currently lining Jacó’s beach.
“We want it to be well lit and very well landscaped,” he said, adding that he envisions the project increasing public access to the length of the beach. “I think this project will change the face of Jacó.”
The walkway would include four public bathrooms, with their own wastewater treatment plants.
The points where beach entry roads meet the beach would also be cleaned up and included in the boulevard-promenade walkway.
© Leland Baxter-Neal
[[+] Zoom]
PLAN OF ACTION: Local leaders were cautiously optimistic this week about plans for a sewer system and wastewater treatment plant for Jaco. AyA says it will fund the $4 million project with a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
Preliminary designs are already in the mayor’s office, and Mr Elizondo called the project “excellent.”
“I would say that it would be unique in Latin America,” Mr Elizondo said.
The municipal council has seen the plans and also supports the idea, Mr Elizondo said, but acknowledged the project would need permits from both the Environment Ministry and the Port Authority because it enters the 50-meter zone inland from the ocean’s mid-tide line called the zona pública.
The Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, looks to invest the bulk of its money this year in improving security, now that the municipality has paved nearly every road in Jacó, with some funding and assistance from the chamber.
During this week’s meeting, the skeleton crew of the new Municipal Police force was introduced to a round of applause from the attendees. The new force will have police functions, as well as enforce municipal regulations, and answer directly to the municipality.
Currently working from a few desks placed outdoors on the municipality’s third-floor balcony, the force is in the process of purchasing vehicles, weapons and other essential equipment while looking for a place to set up amore permanent, indoor office. Prior to the Chamber meeting, Juan Gabriel Hidalgo, interim commissioner for the force, gave Mr Hundley a list of equipment the police need.
It is understood that much of the $100,000 set aside in the chamber budget for security is to be used to help the municipal police.
“Right now, this chamber is trying to be all things to all people and that’s very demanding on its resource,” Mr Hundley told the meeting. “The couple of hundred thousand dollars we need to raise would be reduced to $30,000 if we were not dealing with issues your government usually deals with for you.”
Mr Hundley went on, however, to praise the mayor and the municipality.
“The township of Jacó has been very fortunate to have the benefit of direct access to one of the most effective local governments in Costa Rica,” Mr Hundley said, adding that the municipality has “set an unprecedented example for how local government and the private sector can work together to ensure a better future.
“I have seen more done in last six months than since the fall of 2002,” he continued. “And when I say things done I mean positive things done for the town.”
Last year, the Chamber of Commerce and the municipality collaborated on importing and operating two beach cleaning machines purchased by Daystar; repairing and paving local streets; and various cultural events. They also brought both President Oscar Arias and Tourism Minister Ricardo Benavides to town, among other top government officials.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
AyA To Build Sewage Treatment Plant in Jacó
By Leland Baxter-Neal
$4 Million Loan to Include Sewer System, Treatment Plant
Costa Rica’s national water authority announced this week it will build a much-needed sewer system and wastewater treatment plant for the central Pacific town of Jacó.
Ricardo Sancho, president of the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers, or AyA), said in an email late this week the project will cost an estimated $4 million and include both the treatment plant and a sewer system.
“The project will be included in a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), currently being executed,” he said.
In addition, a new potable water treatment plant for Jacó is under construction, and local developers are establishing a trust fund to privately invest another $3 million in expanding the potable water system’s capacity and distribution.
A 30-year-old Uruguayan engineering firm, SEINCO, has been awarded the $172,000 contract to conduct the feasibility studies and to design both the sewer system and the wastewater treatment plant for Jacó, AyA said. The firm has eight months to finish.
The announcement comes in the wake of wastewater woes in major tourist areas in the province of Guanacaste. In Tamarindo, one of the most popular beach towns in the province, hotel reservations were cancelled and the community expressed outrage after water tests last year found extremely elevated levels of fecal mater in 13 streams feeding the internationally famous beach.
Then, just two weeks ago, the 308-room Occidental Allegro Papagayo Hotel, located further north, on the special government tourism-concession plot known as the Polo Turístico, was shut down for trucking its waste to illegal dump sites.
AyA’s announcement of a plant and sewer system for Jacó came as a surprise to the municipality of Garabito, which is seated in Jacó and has been fighting — unsuccessfully, local leaders believed — for close to a year to get just such a project started.
Mayor Marvin Elizondo and Municipal Council President Damaris Arriola both said they found out about the project through a small article published earlier this week in the daily newspaper La Nación.
“Hopefully this is going to happen now,” Mr Elizondo said. “But the cost doesn’t seem to be in line with our needs.”
Doubts were raised during a Municipal Council meeting Wednesday as to whether $4 million could pay for a sewer system and treatment plant extensive enough to handle Jacó’s booming population and development.
José Miguel Villalobos, former Justice Minister and pro-bono legal advisor to the municipality, noted that AyA is investing $60 million in a sewer system for Puntarenas, the port city north of Jacó, 15 times what is to be spent in Jacó.
Estimates put Puntarenas’ current population at around 112,000 people. During the tourism high season, the population — including visitors — of Jacó and surrounding areas can swell to as many as 60,000 people, according to municipal estimates.
“Either this is an error, or a joke,” Mr Villalobos said.
As a comparison, Guillermo Chin of Consultores Urbanos, who is doing initial surveys for a possible wastewater treatment plant and sewer system in the Quepos-Manuel Antonio area, said just for the small town of Quepos, which isn’t expected to reach 12,000 people until 2025, the investment is estimated at $2.5 million.
That project, which would also include the tourism development around Manuel Antonio, which hasn’t been surveyed yet, is to be funded — investors hope — by a private trust fund and built through a Private-Public Partnership (PPP). Once built, AyA would take over administering the system.
The Quepos-Manuel Antonio area recently saw its potable water system expanded through a PPP, the first of its kind completed in Costa Rica, while similar PPP projects are underway in Playas del Coco and Playa Hermosa, in northern Guanacaste. The $3 million expansion of Jacó’s water system the AyA announced this week would also be a PPP.
PLAN OF ACTION: Local leaders were cautiously optimistic this week about plans for a sewer system and wastewater treatment plant for Jaco. AyA says it will fund the $4 million project with a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
Mr Sancho was unavailable to answer further questions late this week, however, AyA spokeswoman, Gretel Corrales, insisted the investment would be sufficient for the needs of Jacó.
“The AyA is not going to build something so big without having first studied the horizons of future growth,” she said.
The Beach Times attempted to contact SEINCO in Uruguay, but the engineers involved with the project were out of the country. AyA did not have a number for the company in Costa Rica, Ms Corrales said.
The AyA was given authority over local water by the municipality in 2006. In Costa Rica, local government has the possibility of overseeing the local potable and wastewater systems, but can forfeit them to the AyA. Mr Elizondo, who assumed his office about 12 months ago, has called the move a mistake and complained that AyA was not prioritizing Jacó’s wastewater needs.
This week he said he was encouraged by the news, despite his doubts about the total investment.
Currently, businesses and homes in Jacó are responsible for disposing of their own waste, either through septic tanks and leach fields or through private sewage treatment plants. Concerns have been raised that some businesses and homes, however, are dumping waste into streets or rivers, untreated.
Last year, Mr Elizondo ordered all businesses larger than 1200 square meters (12,916 square feet) to obey a long-standing, little enforced health regulation ordering them to have their own wastewater treatment plant. The mayor gave until November 30 of last year to obey, and this week assigned his “two most trusted” municipal inspectors to begin visiting every hotel in Jacó.
“If they haven’t obeyed, they will have to close. They were warned and have had their time, now the time is up,” Mr Elizondo said, saying that he expected that some businesses will be shut down beginning next week.
$4 Million Loan to Include Sewer System, Treatment Plant
Costa Rica’s national water authority announced this week it will build a much-needed sewer system and wastewater treatment plant for the central Pacific town of Jacó.
Ricardo Sancho, president of the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers, or AyA), said in an email late this week the project will cost an estimated $4 million and include both the treatment plant and a sewer system.
“The project will be included in a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), currently being executed,” he said.
In addition, a new potable water treatment plant for Jacó is under construction, and local developers are establishing a trust fund to privately invest another $3 million in expanding the potable water system’s capacity and distribution.
A 30-year-old Uruguayan engineering firm, SEINCO, has been awarded the $172,000 contract to conduct the feasibility studies and to design both the sewer system and the wastewater treatment plant for Jacó, AyA said. The firm has eight months to finish.
The announcement comes in the wake of wastewater woes in major tourist areas in the province of Guanacaste. In Tamarindo, one of the most popular beach towns in the province, hotel reservations were cancelled and the community expressed outrage after water tests last year found extremely elevated levels of fecal mater in 13 streams feeding the internationally famous beach.
Then, just two weeks ago, the 308-room Occidental Allegro Papagayo Hotel, located further north, on the special government tourism-concession plot known as the Polo Turístico, was shut down for trucking its waste to illegal dump sites.
AyA’s announcement of a plant and sewer system for Jacó came as a surprise to the municipality of Garabito, which is seated in Jacó and has been fighting — unsuccessfully, local leaders believed — for close to a year to get just such a project started.
Mayor Marvin Elizondo and Municipal Council President Damaris Arriola both said they found out about the project through a small article published earlier this week in the daily newspaper La Nación.
“Hopefully this is going to happen now,” Mr Elizondo said. “But the cost doesn’t seem to be in line with our needs.”
Doubts were raised during a Municipal Council meeting Wednesday as to whether $4 million could pay for a sewer system and treatment plant extensive enough to handle Jacó’s booming population and development.
José Miguel Villalobos, former Justice Minister and pro-bono legal advisor to the municipality, noted that AyA is investing $60 million in a sewer system for Puntarenas, the port city north of Jacó, 15 times what is to be spent in Jacó.
Estimates put Puntarenas’ current population at around 112,000 people. During the tourism high season, the population — including visitors — of Jacó and surrounding areas can swell to as many as 60,000 people, according to municipal estimates.
“Either this is an error, or a joke,” Mr Villalobos said.
As a comparison, Guillermo Chin of Consultores Urbanos, who is doing initial surveys for a possible wastewater treatment plant and sewer system in the Quepos-Manuel Antonio area, said just for the small town of Quepos, which isn’t expected to reach 12,000 people until 2025, the investment is estimated at $2.5 million.
That project, which would also include the tourism development around Manuel Antonio, which hasn’t been surveyed yet, is to be funded — investors hope — by a private trust fund and built through a Private-Public Partnership (PPP). Once built, AyA would take over administering the system.
The Quepos-Manuel Antonio area recently saw its potable water system expanded through a PPP, the first of its kind completed in Costa Rica, while similar PPP projects are underway in Playas del Coco and Playa Hermosa, in northern Guanacaste. The $3 million expansion of Jacó’s water system the AyA announced this week would also be a PPP.
PLAN OF ACTION: Local leaders were cautiously optimistic this week about plans for a sewer system and wastewater treatment plant for Jaco. AyA says it will fund the $4 million project with a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
Mr Sancho was unavailable to answer further questions late this week, however, AyA spokeswoman, Gretel Corrales, insisted the investment would be sufficient for the needs of Jacó.
“The AyA is not going to build something so big without having first studied the horizons of future growth,” she said.
The Beach Times attempted to contact SEINCO in Uruguay, but the engineers involved with the project were out of the country. AyA did not have a number for the company in Costa Rica, Ms Corrales said.
The AyA was given authority over local water by the municipality in 2006. In Costa Rica, local government has the possibility of overseeing the local potable and wastewater systems, but can forfeit them to the AyA. Mr Elizondo, who assumed his office about 12 months ago, has called the move a mistake and complained that AyA was not prioritizing Jacó’s wastewater needs.
This week he said he was encouraged by the news, despite his doubts about the total investment.
Currently, businesses and homes in Jacó are responsible for disposing of their own waste, either through septic tanks and leach fields or through private sewage treatment plants. Concerns have been raised that some businesses and homes, however, are dumping waste into streets or rivers, untreated.
Last year, Mr Elizondo ordered all businesses larger than 1200 square meters (12,916 square feet) to obey a long-standing, little enforced health regulation ordering them to have their own wastewater treatment plant. The mayor gave until November 30 of last year to obey, and this week assigned his “two most trusted” municipal inspectors to begin visiting every hotel in Jacó.
“If they haven’t obeyed, they will have to close. They were warned and have had their time, now the time is up,” Mr Elizondo said, saying that he expected that some businesses will be shut down beginning next week.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Local Airlines Now Up To 175 Flights Daily
Only two companies offer flights to different locations within Costa Rica - Nature Air and Sansa - offering customers up to 175 flights daily during the high season, which ends in May.
Natura Air, based at the Tobias Bolaños international airport in Pavas, offers 80 flights daily, while Sansa, the regional arm of TACA airlines, offers 95 flight daily out of the "domestic terminal" at the Juan Santamaría (San José) international airport.
During the low season (May to November), the two airlines offer 160 flights daily.
The arilines are responding to an increased demand by tourists and national alike who prefer to take the short flights rather than the hours of driving.
During 2007, the two airlines report carrying 325.000 passengers, making the business of national flights fully profitable.
According to Lisette Acosta, marketing manager for Nature Air, 70% of the customers are foreigners.
Nature Air offers14 destinations, while Sansa offers 16. Some of the destinations in highest demand are Puerto Jiménez in the Southern zone and Quepos in the Central Pacific. The destinations of Liberia and Tamarindo are the most in demand for Guancaste bound travellers.
The cost of flying to and from San José is not cheap. For example, a return trip to Tamarindo from San José costs us$209 on Sansa and us$177 on Nature Air. Customers rationalize the cost that the less than an hour flight is a lot better than a five hour car or bus ride.
The rate is based on operational costs and the demand for each destination and the high and low season.
For example, the current rate on the airlines website for Puerto Jiménez is us$193 on Nature Air and us$206 on Sansa. During the low season, both airlines offer flights at less than half that at us$79.
Natura Air, based at the Tobias Bolaños international airport in Pavas, offers 80 flights daily, while Sansa, the regional arm of TACA airlines, offers 95 flight daily out of the "domestic terminal" at the Juan Santamaría (San José) international airport.
During the low season (May to November), the two airlines offer 160 flights daily.
The arilines are responding to an increased demand by tourists and national alike who prefer to take the short flights rather than the hours of driving.
During 2007, the two airlines report carrying 325.000 passengers, making the business of national flights fully profitable.
According to Lisette Acosta, marketing manager for Nature Air, 70% of the customers are foreigners.
Nature Air offers14 destinations, while Sansa offers 16. Some of the destinations in highest demand are Puerto Jiménez in the Southern zone and Quepos in the Central Pacific. The destinations of Liberia and Tamarindo are the most in demand for Guancaste bound travellers.
The cost of flying to and from San José is not cheap. For example, a return trip to Tamarindo from San José costs us$209 on Sansa and us$177 on Nature Air. Customers rationalize the cost that the less than an hour flight is a lot better than a five hour car or bus ride.
The rate is based on operational costs and the demand for each destination and the high and low season.
For example, the current rate on the airlines website for Puerto Jiménez is us$193 on Nature Air and us$206 on Sansa. During the low season, both airlines offer flights at less than half that at us$79.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Costa Rica Attracts New Level of Luxury Investment
By CostaRicaPages.com
With the estimated arrival of nearly 2 million tourists to Costa Rica in 2008, and a projected income of nearly $3 billion for the tourism industry, it’s no wonder that luxury hotel and rental establishments are tripping over themselves to get in on the action.
Villa Buena Onda
Costa Rica Investment — Luxury Investments on the Rise
Last year saw an investment of $800 million in the tourism sector alone. The Doubletree by Hilton is one of the big newcomers this year, with two hotels recently opened under their name, and another on the way.
“Costa Rica is one of the top eco-tourism destinations in the world, with visitor arrivals growing more each year,” said Hilton Hotel Area Vice President Danny Hughes. “We want to support the country’s tourism growth and welcome guests to experience the biodiversity that makes Costa Rica such an amazing place to be.”
The Doubletree Cariari by Hilton San Jose and the Doubletree Resort by Hilton Puntarenas were Sol Melia and Fiesta hotel properties, respectively, that underwent extensive renovations and brand training to meet Hilton standards. The employees also received service training to offer the same upscale, full-service product that the Doubletree hotels are internationally known for. The Hilton Papagayo Resort will also open soon in place of the Premier Fiesta Resort, with its own private beach near the Four Seasons.
Multi-billion dollar corporations are not the only ones taking part in the fun. First time investors are flocking to the Costa Rican shorelines without batting an eye at the rising land and construction costs, drawn by stories of properties that pay themselves off after several years of rental. Luxury homes that far exceed the levels of what the country once knew are on the rise, and returns on investment are growing at nearly the same rate.
After years of marketing other people’s vacation properties to clients, Costa Rican Vacations’ co-owner Tony Silva and his partner Casey Halloran finally decided that building their own Costa Rica vacation rental was a no-brainer. They combined their favorite aspects of other homes into one, and ended up with a product that far exceeded their original expectations.
“We went all out with this property,” Silva said. “In the end, if you aren’t a superlative in the industry, you’re just another rental home. Vacationers aren’t concerned about the price if they can be assured they are getting the best product with the best service.”
Their product, Villa Buena Onda, located in Playa del Coco, Guanacaste, is one of the biggest homes in the region sleeping 23 people, and rents for a minimum of $9,000 per week, which includes all-inclusive meals, drinks and service. Their unique transparent policy lets guests and fractional owners know exactly how much was spent in the construction, and how much money they intend to make once the villa is sold in two years. If you do the math, you will understand why their plans include the construction of a second villa in 2009.
With the estimated arrival of nearly 2 million tourists to Costa Rica in 2008, and a projected income of nearly $3 billion for the tourism industry, it’s no wonder that luxury hotel and rental establishments are tripping over themselves to get in on the action.
Villa Buena Onda
Costa Rica Investment — Luxury Investments on the Rise
Last year saw an investment of $800 million in the tourism sector alone. The Doubletree by Hilton is one of the big newcomers this year, with two hotels recently opened under their name, and another on the way.
“Costa Rica is one of the top eco-tourism destinations in the world, with visitor arrivals growing more each year,” said Hilton Hotel Area Vice President Danny Hughes. “We want to support the country’s tourism growth and welcome guests to experience the biodiversity that makes Costa Rica such an amazing place to be.”
The Doubletree Cariari by Hilton San Jose and the Doubletree Resort by Hilton Puntarenas were Sol Melia and Fiesta hotel properties, respectively, that underwent extensive renovations and brand training to meet Hilton standards. The employees also received service training to offer the same upscale, full-service product that the Doubletree hotels are internationally known for. The Hilton Papagayo Resort will also open soon in place of the Premier Fiesta Resort, with its own private beach near the Four Seasons.
Multi-billion dollar corporations are not the only ones taking part in the fun. First time investors are flocking to the Costa Rican shorelines without batting an eye at the rising land and construction costs, drawn by stories of properties that pay themselves off after several years of rental. Luxury homes that far exceed the levels of what the country once knew are on the rise, and returns on investment are growing at nearly the same rate.
After years of marketing other people’s vacation properties to clients, Costa Rican Vacations’ co-owner Tony Silva and his partner Casey Halloran finally decided that building their own Costa Rica vacation rental was a no-brainer. They combined their favorite aspects of other homes into one, and ended up with a product that far exceeded their original expectations.
“We went all out with this property,” Silva said. “In the end, if you aren’t a superlative in the industry, you’re just another rental home. Vacationers aren’t concerned about the price if they can be assured they are getting the best product with the best service.”
Their product, Villa Buena Onda, located in Playa del Coco, Guanacaste, is one of the biggest homes in the region sleeping 23 people, and rents for a minimum of $9,000 per week, which includes all-inclusive meals, drinks and service. Their unique transparent policy lets guests and fractional owners know exactly how much was spent in the construction, and how much money they intend to make once the villa is sold in two years. If you do the math, you will understand why their plans include the construction of a second villa in 2009.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Caribbean Recieves A Boost
World Bank Approves us$72.5 million to Revitalize Limón
The port city of Limón, on the Caribbean coast, will soon get a revitalization thanks to a loan for us$72.5 million dollars by the World Bank. The revamping is being called the Port-City Limón Project.
The loan is one of three initiatives in the Caribbean coast being pushed by Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias, according to a Casa Presidencial press release.
The Limón project is expected to pave the way for the other two projects that will expand social programs in the region and build a mega-port.
The Arias government has put aside us$7.5 million dollars to assist in the renovation that is in addition of the World Bank loan.
According to the World Bank, the loan is to invested in urban centres, providing basic services to the areas poorest inhabitants and help reduce unemployment and raise income levels.
“With its historic center and unique Caribbean identity, Limon has great potential for tourism development but this is not being realized due to limitations in its urban planning and management capacity,” said Laura Frigenti, World Bank Director for Central America.
"This loan will help the city of Limon to diversify its economy and to develop both tourism and trade in a sustainable manner, while creating a more livable environment for the city’s poorest inhabitants", Frigenti added.
While Costa Rica as a whole has an impressive development record, the Atlantic region is lagging behind, with one in five of its inhabitants living in poverty.
The Atlantic port-city of Limon is one of the country’s most decayed cities and suffers from high unemployment and crime rates.
The port of Limon, the busiest port in Central America after Panama, is critical to the competitiveness of Costa Rica’s trade, but has become a major bottleneck to the country’s growth due to lack of reform and inefficiency. The congestion in the port affects the city as heavy freight traffic has to pass through the city center to get to the Limón terminal.
The City-Port of Limón Project will help to address these challenges through support for actions in four key areas:
- Urban and cultural revitalization: Investments focused on rescuing Limón’s unique cultural identity, while improving the city’s urban environment (sewerage, drainage, paving of streets) and attractiveness to visitors.
- Local economic development: Activities to generate new sources of employment and income, seizing the opportunities presented by growing cruise tourism and the historical and cultural richness of Limón.
- Local governance and city-port strategic planning: Technical assistance for the Municipality of Limon to improve its capacity to deliver quality services and to take an active role in the city’s development.
- Support for improving the port environment: Actions to improve transport access to the Limón and Moín port terminals and technical assistance to the Transport Ministry to support the concessions process and transport system for Moín and Limón.
“The City-Port of Limón Project is part of the Government of Costa Rica’s regional development strategy for the province, which also aims to address poverty and social problems,” said Emmanuel James, World Bank task manager for the project. “It has been designed to help develop the capacity of local and central governments to address the needs of lagging regions.”
This US$72.5 million fixed-spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is payable in 15 years, including 5 years of grace.
The port city of Limón, on the Caribbean coast, will soon get a revitalization thanks to a loan for us$72.5 million dollars by the World Bank. The revamping is being called the Port-City Limón Project.
The loan is one of three initiatives in the Caribbean coast being pushed by Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias, according to a Casa Presidencial press release.
The Limón project is expected to pave the way for the other two projects that will expand social programs in the region and build a mega-port.
The Arias government has put aside us$7.5 million dollars to assist in the renovation that is in addition of the World Bank loan.
According to the World Bank, the loan is to invested in urban centres, providing basic services to the areas poorest inhabitants and help reduce unemployment and raise income levels.
“With its historic center and unique Caribbean identity, Limon has great potential for tourism development but this is not being realized due to limitations in its urban planning and management capacity,” said Laura Frigenti, World Bank Director for Central America.
"This loan will help the city of Limon to diversify its economy and to develop both tourism and trade in a sustainable manner, while creating a more livable environment for the city’s poorest inhabitants", Frigenti added.
While Costa Rica as a whole has an impressive development record, the Atlantic region is lagging behind, with one in five of its inhabitants living in poverty.
The Atlantic port-city of Limon is one of the country’s most decayed cities and suffers from high unemployment and crime rates.
The port of Limon, the busiest port in Central America after Panama, is critical to the competitiveness of Costa Rica’s trade, but has become a major bottleneck to the country’s growth due to lack of reform and inefficiency. The congestion in the port affects the city as heavy freight traffic has to pass through the city center to get to the Limón terminal.
The City-Port of Limón Project will help to address these challenges through support for actions in four key areas:
- Urban and cultural revitalization: Investments focused on rescuing Limón’s unique cultural identity, while improving the city’s urban environment (sewerage, drainage, paving of streets) and attractiveness to visitors.
- Local economic development: Activities to generate new sources of employment and income, seizing the opportunities presented by growing cruise tourism and the historical and cultural richness of Limón.
- Local governance and city-port strategic planning: Technical assistance for the Municipality of Limon to improve its capacity to deliver quality services and to take an active role in the city’s development.
- Support for improving the port environment: Actions to improve transport access to the Limón and Moín port terminals and technical assistance to the Transport Ministry to support the concessions process and transport system for Moín and Limón.
“The City-Port of Limón Project is part of the Government of Costa Rica’s regional development strategy for the province, which also aims to address poverty and social problems,” said Emmanuel James, World Bank task manager for the project. “It has been designed to help develop the capacity of local and central governments to address the needs of lagging regions.”
This US$72.5 million fixed-spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is payable in 15 years, including 5 years of grace.
Monday, December 31, 2007
What about Panama?
Construction Boom in Panama is Built on Drug Money
By Andrew Beatty
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The shiny skyscrapers that soar above Panama City's coast and loom over the small Central American capital give it a skyline more suited to an Asian powerhouse like Hong Kong or Singapore.
While a subprime mortgage crisis batters the United States, construction has been booming in Panama. According to the most ambitious construction plans, Panama was to have been home to nine of Latin America's 10 tallest buildings by the end of the decade.
But the lights are off in many of the luxury apartments, new buildings sit empty, and suspicion is growing that Panama's property boom may turn out to be a bubble built by speculators on South American drug money.
Real estate agents say the large number of temporary residents in the country is the reason for the city's dim skyline at night. U.S. anti-drug officials say a more likely reason is that Colombian drug cartels use the real estate sector to launder money.
In September, when Panamanian police arrested Colombian drug lord Jose Urrego, they discovered he owned properties and businesses across Panama, including the Pacific island of Chapera, valued at around $12 million.
"It has become more difficult to transfer money through banks, so we have seen a lot more people carrying cash into Panama through Panama City airport," said a U.S. government official in Panama, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"They launder money through the real estate sector, the banking sector and the Colon Free Trade Zone," he added, referring to Panama's import-export park.
Panama's unguarded jungle border with Colombia and its numerous coastal islands, bays and inlets have made the country a major stepping stone for the drug trade between South America, Mexico and the United States.
Its relaxed immigration laws and its good air transport links make it an easy place for Mexican and Colombian cartels to meet.
"The Colombians do not need a visa to get in to Panama, so they are increasingly using it as a place to meet, saying to their Mexican contacts, 'Let's do Panama'," the official said.
APARTMENTS ABOUND
Around 11,000 apartments are forecast to come on the market in Panama City before the end of the decade, according to estate agent Sam Taliaferro. More luxury apartments could be built in Panama over the next few years than the number built in Miami between 1995 and 2005.
All that is for a city of some 800,000 mostly poor Panamanians, some of whom live in rickety wooden homes built a century ago to house workers who built the Panama Canal.
While Panama is a major shipping route and the canal is undergoing a $5 billion expansion, the country's economy remains small and few Panamanians say developers can justify the need for so many skyscrapers.
The increasing numbers of Americans who retire in Panama head for the country's cooler mountain region, for instance.
Some pressure groups and opposition politicians accuse the Panamanian government of approving construction permits regardless of real demand because building creates construction jobs and develops the impressive skyline, photos of which adorn the country's tourist brochures.
Enrique Montenegro, head of the Anti-Corruption Front, said around a fifth of all real estate projects are bought using drug trade cash.
"Some promoters do not ask where the money comes from," he said. "Drug traffickers buy the apartments and use them for their meetings in Panama, or rent them on," he added.
"ILLICIT INVESTORS"
Panama's Attorney General, Ana Matilde Gomez, acknowledged there are "illicit investors" in Panamanian real estate but said the government was powerless to limit the skyscraper boom.
Gomez said the government's focus was on preventing money laundering in the banking sector, which in the 1980s and 1990s was a haven for drug money but has been drastically cleaned up via stricter regulation and controls on money flows.
"Outside the financial sector, there are things we cannot control. Any lucrative economic sector that is booming is attractive to ... illicit investors," she told Reuters.
Even without the suspected drug money, real estate agents say speculators are creating a dangerous bubble that is pushing up rents throughout the country, where 40 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day, and could litter Panama City with half-finished, abandoned buildings.
Already, there are high-profile casualties.
The 104-story Ice Tower was to be one of the most prestigious addresses in the city, with projected construction costs of $200 million.
Today, its foundations are half dug and there is not a worker to be seen at the construction site.
By Andrew Beatty
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The shiny skyscrapers that soar above Panama City's coast and loom over the small Central American capital give it a skyline more suited to an Asian powerhouse like Hong Kong or Singapore.
While a subprime mortgage crisis batters the United States, construction has been booming in Panama. According to the most ambitious construction plans, Panama was to have been home to nine of Latin America's 10 tallest buildings by the end of the decade.
But the lights are off in many of the luxury apartments, new buildings sit empty, and suspicion is growing that Panama's property boom may turn out to be a bubble built by speculators on South American drug money.
Real estate agents say the large number of temporary residents in the country is the reason for the city's dim skyline at night. U.S. anti-drug officials say a more likely reason is that Colombian drug cartels use the real estate sector to launder money.
In September, when Panamanian police arrested Colombian drug lord Jose Urrego, they discovered he owned properties and businesses across Panama, including the Pacific island of Chapera, valued at around $12 million.
"It has become more difficult to transfer money through banks, so we have seen a lot more people carrying cash into Panama through Panama City airport," said a U.S. government official in Panama, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"They launder money through the real estate sector, the banking sector and the Colon Free Trade Zone," he added, referring to Panama's import-export park.
Panama's unguarded jungle border with Colombia and its numerous coastal islands, bays and inlets have made the country a major stepping stone for the drug trade between South America, Mexico and the United States.
Its relaxed immigration laws and its good air transport links make it an easy place for Mexican and Colombian cartels to meet.
"The Colombians do not need a visa to get in to Panama, so they are increasingly using it as a place to meet, saying to their Mexican contacts, 'Let's do Panama'," the official said.
APARTMENTS ABOUND
Around 11,000 apartments are forecast to come on the market in Panama City before the end of the decade, according to estate agent Sam Taliaferro. More luxury apartments could be built in Panama over the next few years than the number built in Miami between 1995 and 2005.
All that is for a city of some 800,000 mostly poor Panamanians, some of whom live in rickety wooden homes built a century ago to house workers who built the Panama Canal.
While Panama is a major shipping route and the canal is undergoing a $5 billion expansion, the country's economy remains small and few Panamanians say developers can justify the need for so many skyscrapers.
The increasing numbers of Americans who retire in Panama head for the country's cooler mountain region, for instance.
Some pressure groups and opposition politicians accuse the Panamanian government of approving construction permits regardless of real demand because building creates construction jobs and develops the impressive skyline, photos of which adorn the country's tourist brochures.
Enrique Montenegro, head of the Anti-Corruption Front, said around a fifth of all real estate projects are bought using drug trade cash.
"Some promoters do not ask where the money comes from," he said. "Drug traffickers buy the apartments and use them for their meetings in Panama, or rent them on," he added.
"ILLICIT INVESTORS"
Panama's Attorney General, Ana Matilde Gomez, acknowledged there are "illicit investors" in Panamanian real estate but said the government was powerless to limit the skyscraper boom.
Gomez said the government's focus was on preventing money laundering in the banking sector, which in the 1980s and 1990s was a haven for drug money but has been drastically cleaned up via stricter regulation and controls on money flows.
"Outside the financial sector, there are things we cannot control. Any lucrative economic sector that is booming is attractive to ... illicit investors," she told Reuters.
Even without the suspected drug money, real estate agents say speculators are creating a dangerous bubble that is pushing up rents throughout the country, where 40 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day, and could litter Panama City with half-finished, abandoned buildings.
Already, there are high-profile casualties.
The 104-story Ice Tower was to be one of the most prestigious addresses in the city, with projected construction costs of $200 million.
Today, its foundations are half dug and there is not a worker to be seen at the construction site.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Jaco Municipality To Spend $6.6 Million In 2008
By Leland Baxter-Neal
The municipality of Garabito, which includes the towns of Herradura, Jacó and Playa Hermosa, is to spend $6.6 million dollars next year according to its 2008 budget.
That budget has been partially approved by the Contraloría General de la República (Comptroller General’s Office), pending a technical study to justify new municipal staff positions being created.
Included in that spending is the creation of a 25-strong municipal police force, into which the municipal government is investing $800,000; city beautification projects for Jacó; the construction of a city park and amphitheater and four playgrounds; $250,000 in reparations and works on area schools; and two low-income housing projects that would build homes for between 650 and 750 families.
“Next year is they year in which we will begin our most important projects,” mayor Marvin Elizondo said.
With nearly every road in Jacó now paved, including beach entries, Mr Elizondo added that he hopes to have most of the roads in the canton of Garabito paved by the end of next year.
Mr Elizondo and the current municipal council took office in February. In the 10 months since, the municipality has invested more than $2 million in road works projects covering 175 kilometers (108 miles).
In addition, the municipality has already contracted the paving of four more roads, including the streets Ricos y Famosos and Copey in Jacó, and roads in Herradura and in Queabrada Ganado, for a total of $850,000, which will come out of the 2007 budgetary funds.
“I’m very happy with these contracts,” Mr Elizondo said. “Imagine if that money had been left over?”
Mr Elizondo inherited a budgetary surplus from the former administration of Luis Fernando Villalobos of $3.5 million.
© Leland Baxter-Neal
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TOYS FOR LOTS OF TOTS: Longtime Jaco residents Norma Kahn and her husband Kenneth Kahn were among nearly 20 volunteers that showed up to wrap Christmas gifts for 1000 needy children — yes, 1000 — from the canton of Garabito. Gabriela Arias and Christina Truitt, co-coordinators of Jaco’s Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce, have taken on the tall task of organizing the party, which looks to give Christmas presents to all the needy children in the canton.
The Comptroller, in a report on municipal efficiency released earlier this year, noted that, while spending the second most per citizen in the country, Garabito had the worst execution rate for its budget. The surplus mayor Elizondo inherited accounted for a whopping 61 per cent of the previous year’s budget.
After launching a veritable full court press this year, he has spent from not only his own 2007 budget, but also that surplus. Mr Elizondo however acknowledged that he will likely close out the year with a surplus of his own of $1 million, or slightly more.
Mr Elizondo said he was also able to put some of his excess funds from this year toward the construction of a regional state health clinic, known as an EBAIS (Equipos Básicos de Atención Integral), in the community of Lagunilla. Next year’s budget includes a second EBAIS to attend the nearly 4000 resident that live between Tárcoles and Quebrada Ganado, two small towns north of Jacó.
For Mr Elizondo, however, his pride and joy are the two housing projects to be built next year.
“In 25 years there hasn’t been another social housing project built in Garabito. We have a shortage of nearly 1000 homes,” he said. “This is the most important project because it is giving housing to our working class.”
The Comptroller this week approved the $250,000 purchase of a five-hectare (12-acre) piece of property in the community of Lagunilla, north of Jacó, where the municipality is going to build low income housing for 255 families.
In addition, Mr Elizondo said, the municipality has come to an agreement with a local land owner to exchange a piece of municipal property for a six-hactare (14-acre) lot near Jacó’s high school, on the Costanera coastal highway, where another housing project of 400 to 500 houses is to be built next year.
Mr Elizondo ranked the creation of the municipal police and a new town park as the second and third most important projects.
That park is to be located between the Beatle Bar and the Monkey Bar on Jacó’s main drag, Avenida Pastor Díaz, and will include a $70,000-amphitheater, included in the 2008 budget.
The budget also includes $150,000 for art projects, wider sidewalks and other beautification works along Pastor Díaz.
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