San José - Caldera Highway Contract Signed, But Will Road Be Finally Built
Here we go again, with another attempt to complete the Caldera - San José highway, a project that has been in the planning for almost 20 years and has been jump started a number of times.

With great fanfare, the Consejo Nacional de Concesiones (CNC) del MOPT and the international consortium Autopistas del Sol S.A. signed the agreement that would retake the construction of the road.

The deal calls for the consortium to put out the us$150 million dollars it will take to finish the project and recover the investment by charging a toll of us$2.70 (¢1.360 colones). The deal says that is the cost is lower, the toll charge will also be lowered.

If all goes according to plan, construction should start by November or December, after the end of the rainy season and should be finished by the end of 2007 or middle of 2008, depending on many factors.

Autopistas de Sol is made of FCC Construcción and Itinere Infraestructura from Spain, Soares Da Costa Concessões from Portugal and Costa Rica's Corporación M&S Internacional.

The road will commence at the west end of the Sabana Park and will end at Caldera, south of Puntarenas for a total of 77 kilometres that would take only 1 hour to travel. The current time to travel to Caldera by either the Orotina route or the Interamerican by Puntarenas is about two hours.

The new road will incorporate the section that is now known as the Fernando Prospero that run from the Sabana to Santa Ana and continue to Cuidad Colon, Orotina and through to Caldera.

The first attempt at building the road was n 2002 when the Argentinina-Costa Rican consortium Cartellone Acosol fell apart. The next attempt was in 2004 by the Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin, when the company pulled out of the project.

Last year, negotiations between the government and Autopistas del Sol began and the agreement was finally signed yesterday.

The plans to build the road began in 1978.