New San Jose - Jaco Highway

Financial watchdog gives OK to Caldera highway
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


The much awaited new highway to the Pacific got a boost Monday when the nation's financial watchdog approved adjustments to the concession contract and told officials that the job should start within 30 days after legal notification.

The decision was by the Contraloría de la República and involved a concession contract between the nation's Consejo Nacional de Concesiones and the company Autopistas del Sol.

Investors in the highway project balked at the financial arrangments, and Autopista del Sol had to come up with a better deal. The project was supposed to start earlier this year but was delayed by the contract negotiations.

The consejo reached a deal with Autopista del Sol in early October. At that time officials said that the cost of the project had increased to $230 million from the original $158 million. An announcement from the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes said that the price hike also includes improvements in drainage, guarantees in the durability of the pavement and more work on stabilizing slopes.

Any time a government agency enters into a contract involving substantial sums, the deal has to be reviewed by the Contraloría. Frequently minor glitches doom a deal.

In this case, the Contraloría reviewed the fifth addendum to the concession contract. A panel of three experts, headed by Carlos Andrés Arguedas Vargas, reviewed the documents. Although some lapses were found, the panel decided to approve the document with reservations.
The report by the panel considered each clause of the contract separately. The decision was contained in a letter to Karla González Carvajal, minister of Obras Públicas y Transportes and also president of the consejo. The document is nearly 6,000 words and full of technical references and constitutional citations.

The job is in three parts. The first enhances the stretch of road from La Sabana to Ciudad Colón, now called the Autopista Próspero Fernández. Much of this is now a four-lane divided highway but west of Santa Ana the road becomes two lane. This work, according to the ministry, will take about a year.

The big job is the Ciudad Colón-Orotina highway, some 39 kms. or about 24 miles. The estimated time of constrcution is two years, said the ministry.

The third part of the project is the enhancement of a 24-km. stretch from the Orotina traffic interchange to the Puerto de Caldera. This road now exists, and the upgrades are expected to take but six months, said the ministry.

When finished, the route will knock about an hour off a car trip to the Pacific coast. Locals are using the highway now.

Autopista will get back its money and it hopes a profit by charging motorists a toll. The price for a passenger car is set now at $2.75.

The Costa Rican central government likes concessions because it does not have the money to pay for big projects.

In the case of the highway, Autopista del Sol is raising the money to build the roadway.