Alterra and Government Advance
On Negotiations, But Slowly
Negotiations are
slowly advancing between Juan
Santamaría (San José) airport
concessionaire Alterra Partners
and Costa Rica's government to
resolve the former's US$18.7mn
claim for lost revenue.
Mónica Nagel, executive director
of Alterra's Costa Rica unit,
said
"we are closer to a solution now
than two months ago... but it is
not enough as the rough draft
has not been reviewed by [Costa
Rica's civil aviation board]
Cetac and is far from being
approved," referring to the
draft of a government proposal
to resolve the situation.
"There have been good intentions
on both sides, and the issue has
been advancing well. But it is a
complicated issue that has taken
two years to get to this point,"
Minister of Ministro de Obras
Publicas y Transport (MOPT),
Rándall Quirós, said in a recent
interview.
The government is due to send
the proposal to the country's
comptroller general by
end-February, with the
comptroller ruling on that
proposal by mid-April for works
to restart during June, the
minister added.
The debate over lost revenue
occurred when Costa Rica's
comptroller general interpreted
differently a contract governing
the concessionaire's tariff
model, causing Alterra to suffer
a shortfall in projected income.
Alterra and government officials
met last Monday with
representatives from the 10
international banks that are
financing Alterra's
modernization projects at the
Juan Santamaría airport. Due to
the impasse between Alterra and
the government, the banks have
held up some US$30mn in
financing of the total US$120mn
for airport modernization.
Project lenders will need to
know all branches of the
government back the eventual
resolution to the concession.
And for works to continue, the
banks need guarantees that the
project agreements will be
upheld within their legal
framework, according to local
press.
"Legal security does exist in
Costa Rica," minister Quirós
said. "The Santamaría contract
with Alterra was the nation's
first concession contract,
together with a concession
contract for the Caldera
highway. The problem is lack of
experience, not lack of legal
security."
Alterra, controlled by US
construction giant Bechtel,
signed a 20-year contract in
2002 to run operations at the
Juan Santamaría airport.
$25 Million Investment
The
facilities of the Real
Intercontinental Hotel, in
Escazu, west of San José, will
be enhanced through a
$25-million investment, manager
Ramon Diago and Real Group
general director Fernando Poma
disclosed.
The hotel currently has 261
rooms, to which another 100 will
be added this year.
Earthquake Shakes the Southern
Zone
A 4.0
earthquake yesterday morning at
5:29am was registered some 25
kilometres southeast of Paso
Canoas, at the Panama border.
According to the Observatorio
Vulcanológico y Sismológico de
Costa Rica (Ovsicori), the quake
had depth of 24 kilometres in an
area where the Coco and Nazca
plates meet.
The movement was felt throughout
the southern part of Costa Rica
but there were no reports of
being felt in the Central
Valley.
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Environment: 18th in the World
Costa Rica placed 18th among the
world countries according to the
possibility of preserving
natural resources.
The Environmental Sustainability
Index - from US Yale and
Columbia universities -
classifies countries according
to the chances they have of
effectively preserving their
natural resources for decades
ahead. In order to do so, 76
variables are taken into
consideration, and graded 0 to
100.
The countries with the highest
grades are Finland (75.1),
Norway (73.4), and Uruguay
(71.8).Turkmenistan (33.1),
Taiwan (32.7), and North Korea
(29.2) are at the bottom.
Costa Rica placed 18th with 59.6
points.
Texas
Bank Robber Captured in Costa
Rica
Houston's KHOU television news
station reports that FBI agents
arrived in Costa Rica to bring
back a man who has now been
charged with a bank burglary in
Crystal Beach.
David Thomas Hughes allegedly
robbed a bank in Crystal Beach.
He's suspected in at least 20
similar cases in Texas and
around the nation. Hughes
appeared before a federal judge
in Houston Friday morning.
Suspect David Thomas Hughes was
brought back to Houston to face
bank robbery charges in Crystal
Beach and around the country.
Federal authorities say Hughes
led a team of robbers who stole
$200,000 from the Texas First
Bank in Crystal City this past
August. The FBI says they were
no amateurs. "They came in
through the roof. They used
torches to open the safe. The
bank was closed and no one was
there," said Bob Doguim of the
FBI.
Dallas officials and officials
in South Carolina also want him
on parole and passport
violations. According to the
FBI, Hughes was living the good
life in Costa Rica until federal
agents showed up at his door.
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