Infrastructure Credit Plan is in the Hands of the National Assembly

In Costa Rica, the government always gives us the excuse that there is no money available for this and no money available for that. Well, this saying just may be a thing of the past if the government and more specifically the National Assembly approve an 850 million dollar credit to build roads, bicycle paths, the proposed airport in the southern zone, and even the urban electric train. The government will add 200 million dollars of its own, which brings to the total to a little over a billion dollars. The credit must also be used to build the third lane for the highway between San Ramon in Alajuela and Barranca in Puntarenas, as well as expanding the road between Ciudad Quesada and Florencia.

The credit also includes infrastructure improvements for 60 bridges on the northern Inter American Highway and bicycle paths, especially the road which circles San Jose proper. This would be a massive billion dollar infrastructure investment which would modernize roads and bridges and bring Costa Rica a step closer to the 21st century. However, it will be the National Assembly that decides what will happen. They have the final say in these matters.

Of the proposed billion dollar infrastructure investment, 100 million dollars would go toward improving the railroad which will run between San Jose, Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago. Another 50 million is supposed to go toward sidewalks, bicycle paths and pedestrian bridges.

According to the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT by its initials in Spanish), it is hoped that the credit will be approved by the end of the year. The proposed plan is urgent in order for Costa Rica to be able to compete in the face of free trade.

At TicosLand.com, we say that this is long overdue. Our infrastructure has been steadily deteriorating to the point where it is affecting our ability to compete in the global market. Costa Rica cannot aspire to be a First World country with Third World infrastructure; it just isn’t possible. The country is taking on debt, that’s a given. On the other hand, it is a known fact that investment in a country’s infrastructure always heightens productivity. If the country is more productive, the debt is paid and the investment is well worth the risk. We cannot be left behind in a global economy. Let’s charge into the 21st century. This should have been done a long time ago.

A word of caution: TicosLand.com, the leading web directory in Costa Rica knows that 1 billion dollars is a lot of temptation. There will be a lot of people looking to put their hands in the till and “wet their beaks” as Sicilians are fond of saying. Well, at TicosLand.com we beg the government to set up a panel of international and national overseers to ensure that the money goes where it is supposed to go.