Government Seeks us$1.3 billion Funding For Road Works
The government of Oscar Arias government is evaluating a number of possibilities for the funding of road and highway works that would demand a total us$1.3 billion.

The works include five road and highway projects, considered a priority for the government, which would require a total investment of at least us$709 million.

"Most of these projects are not even on paper yet, because the government lacks the necessary funds to begin their design," a communications official from Costa Rica's public works and transport ministry (MOPT) said.

Another us$600 million investment would be required for the maintenance of the country's road and highway networks, for which the Ministerio de Obras Publicas y Transporte (MOPT) would cover part of the cost with tax revenues and for which it has requested funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF).

The five new highway projects include the construction of the: San José-Cartago corridor (us$83 millionn); San José-Limón highway (us$150 to us$300 million) - which connects to ports on the Atlantic, which handle 70% of exports
3. a beltway around capital San José to facilitate cargo traffic between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts (us$210 million); the San José-Heredia trunk road (us$75 million); and San José's Circunvalación Norte bypass (us $40million).

Out of the five initiatives, the San José-Cartago highway is the closest to execution, as MOPT is already executing feasibility studies before launching the tender, the MOPT communications official said. MOPT hopes construction will kick off by 2009, the official added.

Although authorities plan on offering the remaining four projects for concession, they must first carry out the necessary feasibility studies, come up with a preliminary design and agree on concession rules, the source said. In the case of the San José-Heredia trunk road, the government lacks the necessary funds to expropriate the lands, which greatly affects the project, he added.

Costa Rica has experienced a number of difficulties in the search for funding due to limited financial resources. Also, the state has traditionally had trouble in expropriating land for concessioned routes. Such is the case for both the San José-San Ramón and San José-Caldera highways, where land expropriation has taken longer and has been more conflictive than expected.

The country's finance ministry has used car ownership and gas taxes to pay a number of loans related to road and highway works.