President Luis Guillermo Solís / Archive (Photo: Casa Presidencial)

January 22^nd, 2016 (ICR News) Costa Rica president Luis Guillermo Solis promised to make progress in public works and infrastructure this year during an address on Thursday.

“As much as experts and more experts say that this administration will not move things forward [in terms of] infrastructure, we are going to do it and you will see,” President Solis said.  “I do not want delays, I want everything to move quickly.”

The president said that he is seeking an engineer to appoint as the new Minister of Public Works and Transportation, after the resignation of Minister Carlos Segnini, a lawyer by trade who announced his resignation after harsh criticism of his management of public works projects.

Late last year the Solis administration pledged to invest at least US $650 million during the president’s term in office toward public works and infrastructure projects.

Amongst other projects, the president promised that new work would begin “soon” on the long-troubled Virilla River Bridge, located on the General Cañas highway, which has come to be known colloquially as “La Platina.”  A “permanent” solution to fix the troubled bridge has been promised since at least 2013 and efforts have cost millions of dollars to no avail.

The president also promised progress on the Florencia-Naranjo highway, the start of expansion of Route 32 between San Jose and Limon, and the completion of the Cañas-Liberia expansion of Route 1.