Government To Take Legal
Action Against Limón
Port Slowdowns
Costa Rica's government
plans to take legal
action in response to
Limón port authority
Japdeva labor union
Sintrajap's work
slowdown at the port,
inter-institutional
coordination minister
Marco Vargas said in a
statement.
The government has
requested that the Limón
work tribunal declare
the work slowdown
illegal, with the hope
of completely avoiding
any form of work
stoppage, said Vargas.
The government has
designed a us$300
million - us$500 million
project to modernize and
integrate the existing
docks of Limón and
fellow Atlantic port
Moín with a concession
to build and operate a
new port, creating a
megaport for
transboarding and
logistics that would
increase national port
capacity by up to 28
times, BNamericas
reported previously.
Sintrajap is against
this plan to concession
the new port, which is
expected to be launched
in 2008 and would start
operating in 2015,
previous reports
indicated.
"The union has been very
clear that they do not
approve of this. We are
more convinced every day
of the [need for the]
concession, and we are
even more convinced
when, each time we don't
have an agreement on
some aspect, [the union]
uses the means of
production stoppage,
which hurts small to
large-scale exporters,
as well as importers,"
said Vargas.
While progress has been
made in some areas, such
as the establishment of
spending limits for the
purchase of equipment
used by Japdeva, a
change in management is
still necessary in order
to carry out the port
modernizations, added
the inter-institutional
coordination minister.
Spanish port company
Sociedad Portuaria de
Santander has offered to
develop studies and
contribute to the
concession process for
the megaport project,
which is expected to
increase Costa Rica's
annual port capacity to
2mn TEUs, compared to
the current 70,000 TEUs,
previous reports
indicated. |
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