Costa
Rica's Opposition Party Suggests
Modernizing Limón-Moín Complex With
IDB lLoan
By Renzo Dasso / Business News
Americas
Costa Rica's center-left opposition
party, the Partido Accion Cuidadana
( PAC) is proposing to use us$80
million of an us$850 million IDB
loan, currently awaiting
congressional approval, to modernize
the Limón-Moín port complex, PAC's
infrastructure manager and
congressman Marvin Rojas told
BNamericas.
The congressman said the initiative
has been presented to the government
and the Costa Rican chamber of
exporters, which supports the
project along with Limón-Moín union
Sintrajab.
PAC is also proposing to build a
new, privately operated facility
close to the complex to meet future
demand for port services on the
country's Atlantic coast.
"Projections indicate that Limón-Moín
will fall short of future demand.
Therefore, we need a new, additional
port complex that would be in
private hands," Rojas said.
"Our proposal involves investing
US$80mn to modernize Limón-Moín and
keep it under state administration,
as it is now. In additional, we are
proposing to concession the
construction of a new facility to
absorb future demand, which would
compete with Limón-Moín," Rojas
said.
The new private port would cost
US$600mn-700mn and would be located
north of Limón port, adjacent to the
Moín facility.
"We would have a private and public
complex competing against each
other," he said, adding: "We are
looking to replicate the Chilean
ports concession model, which limits
the rates private operators charge
because they must compete with an
adjacent public facility. This
provides balance."
On October 6, 2008 the Costa Rican
government rejected a PAC proposal
to maintain Limón port under state
administration and have a private
developer build and operate a new
port facility northeast of Moín.
The executive dismissed the
proposal, submitted by PAC on
September 29, saying: "It does not
make sense" and "it is not the best
solution for the country."
Instead, the government said it was
moving forward with its plan to have
both ports, located in Limón
province, offered in concession to a
single private developer.
Sintrajab has staunchly opposed this
model, but President Óscar Arias
plans to privatize the port complex
before his term ends in 2010.
Meanwhile, the bill required to
approve the US$850mn IDB loan is on
standby in congress due to the
legislature changes underway and
scheduled to run through May, the
legislative assembly's secretarial
office's deputy director Edel Reales
told BNamericas in a previous
interview.
IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno
previously called for the Costa
Rican congress to approve the loan,
which would finance infrastructure
projects such as highways, ports and
airports.
The loan was approved by IDB last
September and in December Arias
asked congress to speed up its
ratification.
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