San José Airport
Terminal Could Be
Finished In a Year
The consortium lead by
Houston Airport System
Development Company (HASDC)
says it will complete
the construction of the
San José airport
terminal if given the
nod by the Ministerio de
Obras Públicas y
Transportes (MOPT),
according to Karla
Gonzalez, MOPT minister.
HASDC purchased the
shares of Alterra
Partners who has been
managing and
constructing the Juan
Santamaría since 2001
and with its partners,
ADC Management from
Canada and Andrade
Gutiérrez Concesiones (AGC)
from Brazil, it plans to
complete the work within
12 to 14 months and
manage the airport more
effictively.
HASDC president, Jeffrey
Scheferman, said that
the company will inject
us$25 million dollars of
its own money to
complete the
construction of the
terminal, which is to
include additional
gates, a new office for
immigration and customs
and more space for shops
and offices.
The final decision to
give HASDC the contract
is up to the Consejo
Técnico de Aviación
Civil (CTAC) - Civil
Aviation - failing which
it will have to assume
the airport operation.
The completion of the
terminal also hinges on
the obtaining of a us$48
million dollar loan from
the Banco
Centroamericano de
Integración Económica (BCIE).
Alfredo Ortuño, BCIE
president, said that the
bank is "very
interested" in the
project.
The loan is in addition
to the us$90 million
dollar debt run up by
Alterra.
HASDC has come under
criticism by the
International Air
Transport Association,
saying that the company
is responsible for the
high cost of the Quito,
Lima, airport it has
been managing since
2001. The IATA says that
HASDC has converted the
Quito airport into one
of the most expensive in
Latin America.
HASDC is the financial
arm fo Houston Airport
System that currently
runs three airports in
Houston with a combined
passenger traffic of 58
million people a year.
Once the CTAC has
approved the HASDC
proposal, all that
remains is the review of
the contract terms by
the Órgano Fiscalizador
del contrato de Gestión
Interesada (OFGI) and
the approval of the
Contraloría
(Comptroller's office)
on the transfer of
Alterra's shares to
HASDC.
According to Viviana
Martín, president of
CTAC, the government
does no time limit to
review the proposal.
Notwithstanding, HASDC
has already begun
looking for builders in
Costa Rica. According to
Scheferman, the builders
will have to be ready to
start work
"immediately". |
