ICE To Expand To Tunnel
Road Building
The Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) - the
state monopoly on
electricity and
telecommunications - had
decided to venture into
tunnel road building.
And although underground
road building is new
business to ICE, it is
an expert in tunneling.
ICE's president, Pablo
Quiros, assures that no
one in the country is
more qualified to build
an tunnel road and is
gearing up to the
challenge as the
Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)
is nearing its decision
to build an underground
tunnel connecting Zapote
to Curridabat rather
than building a surface
road.
The decision by the MOPT
is to build underground
is based on costs and
timing.
An tunnel road would
cost us$45 million
dollars, us$7 million
less that if has to
expropriate the land in
the roadway's path. In
addition, expropriation
in Costa Rica is a long
process that could set
back the road
construction between 18
and 24 months to
expropriate the 329
properties, the time
that could be used to
build the tunnel.
An example of the delays
in road construction is
the new road in San
Carlos that took 17
months to complete the
expropriation, according
to an analysis by the
Contraloria
(Comptroller's office).
The ICE president added
that the taking on the
tunnel construction is
also good for the
institution as its
timing will coincide
with the completion of
the Pirris electrical
station excavation
project.
Quiros said that
normally constructions
workers at a project are
let go once their job is
done, rehiring the
workers after the
tendering process for a
new project is complete.
This process usually
loses good workers as
they are hired by other
companies.
In this case, the Pirris
workers could
immediately move to the
tunnel project.
Although the plans for
the Zapote - Curridabat
tunnel are not yet
complete, Quiros said
the preliminary plans
show the project is
feasible.
"The geology tests are
the most important,
which show the work is
realizable", said Quiros.
The MOPT, in addition to
drawing up plans, has
yet to resolve the
financing for the
project, although the
Banco Centroamerícano de
Integración Económica (BCIE)
has expressed an
interest in financing
it.
The tunnel will take
pressure off the growing
traffic problems in the
east of the San José.
The roadway connecting
Zapote and Hacienda
Vieja is not a new idea,
it was planned in the
1970's within the plans
for the Florencio del
Castillo highway that
now connects Curridabat
to Cartago.
However, the lack of
financial resources and
government disinterest
kept the project at bay
while traffic congestion
in the area grew.
As part of the plan for
the tunnel road is widen
the Florencio del
Castillo to six lanes
from the current four.
The project is being
driven by the Consejo
Nacional de Concessiones
which is considering the
possibility of giving
the contract on a 15 to
20 year concession to
one contractor, who will
operate and maintain the
tunnel and recover its
investment by charging a
toll. |
