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Oh, No! Caldera highway again emeshed in paperwork and delays
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Remember that highway they were going to start?
The bridges already are in, and the route is from La Sabana to Caldera on the Pacific.

You know, the one that has been on-again, off-again since the Miguel Ángel Rodríguez administration. Well, its off again.

The Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes had said the project would start during the first few days of April. That was then, and this is now.

Luis Diego Vargas, vice minister of concessions for the ministry, says that the start now has been put off for at least two months.
The company in charge of the project, Autopista del Sol, has been told by its banking associates that it needs what amounts to a completion bond to protect the lenders.

But the Contraloría General de la República, which has to evaluate every contract, rejected the original proposal.

So corrections to the paperwork have to be made.

Autopista del Sol will build the highway and then get its money back through tolls because it will hold a concession on the highway. Costa Rica is opting for concessions because the central government does not have enough money to build needed infrastructure.

Highway To Caldera Stalled, Again
The completion of the road to Caldera, the highway that would connect San José to the Pacific coast in minutes instead of hours, is again being stalled. And the only thing the government can do is consider fining the builder.

Yesterday the Consejo Nacional de Concesiones (CNC) began the process of fining the Consorcio Autopistas del Sol for not starting the work that was scheduled to begin on April 2.

The Ministra de Transportes, Karla González, made the announcement yesterday while in Switzerland.

The minister said that the State has complied with all the steps for the builder to commence the work at the beginning of the month, notwithstanding, no work has begun on the section that connects Brasil de Santa Ana to Orotina.

According to the contract, the builder faces a fine of us$50.000 dollars for each day of delay. If the fine is applied infull, the builder would already owe the state us$1.2 million dollars.

In addition, the Contraloría (Comptroller's office) did not approve an addendum to the contract, as requested by the builder, saying that it was inappropriate that Autopistas del Sol transfer its shares, used a guarantee for bankers of the project, to a trust.

Carlos Arguedas, manager of contracts at the Contraloría, said that that decision should not have any effect on the commencement of the project and there is no reason for the delays.

However, Álvaro Muelas, general manager of Autopistas del Sol, said that while there is no addendum to the contract, the Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica and the Caja de Madrid will not disburse the us $200 million dollars it needs to build the 77 kilometre stretch of the highway.

Minister González, for her part, said that the project cannot be stalled because of loan problems. "The financing of the project is not a responsibility of the government, but that of the builder", said González.

The completion of the highway is of importance to the country and the tourism sector in general.

Once the highway is complete the travel time to playa Jacó, Caldera and Puntarenas, for instance will be less than one hour instead of the current two hours or more. Travel time to other points like Quepos and Manuel Antonio will be greatly reduced.

The highway has been in the planning stage for the last twenty years, Some five years ago the bridges connecting the highway were built, however, the actual completion of the highway has seen several builders awarded the contract for the construction, none ever commencing the work.