Tuesday 02 December
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Dollar Exchange
Stabilizes
Limón
Port Major Bottleneck To
The Country’s Growth
Singapore, Costa Rica To
Start Talks On Free
Trade Agreement
Desert Sun Editor Shares
Own Tale of Airplane
Woes
Colombian DMG With
Possible Ties To Costa
Rica
Aguinaldo Hits The
Streets!
|
Limón
Port Major Bottleneck To
The Country’s Growth
Work to expand and
upgrade ports in Central
America is coming in
fits and starts as port
authorities and national
governments grapple with
governance and social
issues.
“All of the Central
American ports have some
expansion in mind, some
more than others,” said
Mike Hopkins, vice
president of operations
in the U.S. for Crowley
Maritime Corp., a
shipping line active in
the U.S. trades with
Central America and the
Caribbean.
No longer are Central
America’s ports merely
“dry canal connection
points for big ships
coming from Asia and
Europe,” Hopkins said.
“The growth rate of all
of the Central America
countries is sufficient
in itself to warrant
port and infrastructure
expansions.”
Export and tourism
interests want the Costa
Rican government to make
up its mind on how to
increase capacities at
the country’s Caribbean
ports. Ship-loading
delays have been costly
to fruit growers. The
government plans next
month to begin the
process of awarding a
management concession to
a private operator, and
officials, opposition
politicians and unions
are locking horns over
underlying social and
political as well as
technical issues.
The World Bank in
January agreed to lend
Costa Rica us$72.5
million for port
modernization at Limón
and Moin and for urban
revitalization in Limon.
But Hopkins said that
“perceived impact and
resistance by Costa
Rican port labour from
the inclusion of Costa
Rica in existing trade
agreements still must be
resolved before major
investment.”
“Limón is one of the
country’s most decayed
cities and suffers from
high unemployment and
crime rates,” the World
Bank said in announcing
the loan. “The Port of
Limón, 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 centre to get to
the Limón terminal.” |
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