Home | Community | Finally! Bidding of Veintisiete-Villarreal Road Speeds Up!

Finally! Bidding of Veintisiete-Villarreal Road Speeds Up!

06 August, 2011 03:03:00 Marisol Arias

Photo by: Mauricio Mora Barquero

• Road will cost about $10 million and will be ready in 2012.• MOPT announces investments in Guanacaste for about $200 million. After years of promises and struggles, Tamarindo and surrounding coastal communities will finally have the long-awaited road from Veintisiete de Abril to Villarreal in 2012.

The publication of the bidding in the Official Gazette on Friday, July 22 opens the process of procurement of works and confirms the news expected by all the communities that have long called on governments for the construction of this road. This route is vital for the development of tourism in the area, since it greatly shortens the travel distances and connects Tamarindo and other adjacent coastal areas to the main towns of the Canton.

According to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the receipt of bids is scheduled for August 18 this year.

The project has been estimated at about $10 million (¢5.095 million) and includes a two-lane road, sidewalks, demarcation, and a 9cm rolled pavement plus a 20cm stabilized base.

In addition, 5 existing bridges will be replaced: Sin Nombre, Molina, Marcos Hernandez Bridge and the bridge over Rio San Francisco.

The Minister of Public Works, Francisco Jimenez, said that since the plans were donated by a group of businessmen in the area and after the publication of the bidding, the works are estimated to start by early 2012, at the latest. This work will complement the project between 27 de abril and Paraíso, a 13.9 km road that in 2009 required an investment of nearly $10 million (about ¢4.971 million). MOPT’s head says that they will invest about $200 million in important works in the province, including the new airport terminal in Liberia and the expansion of the North Inter American route. New terminal walks steadily The new passenger terminal at Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia will launch the passenger traffic service in November, which coincides with the beginning of the high season for tourism. Jimenez said that the project has shown a progress of an 80%.

The Airport management has been contracted to Coriport SA. The new terminal will be able to address the needs of 1500 tourists rather than 900, as at present. This work, worth $35 million, will provide 22,949 m² more of a two-level building. These and other investments are part of the promises and accountability that comes with the annual presidential visit of President Laura Chinchilla and the Governing Council to Guanacaste in light of the celebration of the anniversary of the Annexation of Nicoya. Presidential promises and protests Between protests and heavy security, President Laura Chinchilla and her cabinet attended the traditional Guanacaste Governing Council, which is held every year in Nicoya as part of the anniversary of the annexation of the Nicoya Party to Costa Rica.

Despite the large police presence, dozens of protesters were stationed near the park in Nicoya, accompanied by members of the Citizen Action Party (PAC) and the Broad Front Party (Frente Amplio). They questioned the president on important topics such as the urgency of ratifying the Coastal Territories Law, the holding of a plebiscite to appoint Puntarenas’ Cóbano, Lepanto and Paquera districts as cantons of the province, Guanacaste’s economic recovery and the requirement of tax collection to tourist concessionaires at Papagayo.

The president refuted the claims and invited the protesters to demand the ratification of the Fiscal Plan to their representatives at Congress, since, according to the government, its discussion delays the implementation of projects that Chinchilla’s administration offered in campaign. "It's okay to clamor for the government’s response. However, I also see that many of your demands pass by Congress. Ask these to the people who now control the Congress," said Chinchilla. This reference sent a direct message to legislators from the opposition alliance and the legislative directory. "Tell your representatives to pass those taxes," she said and requested Guanacastecans to “not listen to the pessimistic voices” and “reject leadership that only have protests to offer." The response of the opposition was soon heard. They described the President's statements as belonging to an election campaign and as hinderers of dialogue.

For example, Juan Carlos Mendoza, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly said that: "The President is in a time when the Government is floundering on many fronts, and therefore, she is trying to wash her hands by accusing the Congress and she is not seeing that she is the one making the mistakes." "People are realizing that the country has no direction whatsoever. That is the reason for the protests in Guanacaste. The President is the first one forced to build the necessary bridges and not use a fighting style as she is doing. That does not help governance," said Rodolfo Sotomayor, a member of the Social Christian Unity Party. Meanwhile, PLN congressmen supported the call of the president to ask the opposition to approve the fiscal plan and other priorities such as the Power Contingency.

During her tour throughout the province, the President inaugurated a series of works and projects of great importance to communities, including: the geothermal plant Las Pailas, in Curubande, Liberia, which will provide electricity to some 92 thousand households. The President inaugurated the boulevard "Amor de Temporada” (Love of the Season) in Playas del Coco, a work that represents an investment of ¢282 million taken from the funds of the Maritime Zone Law. The 400-meter long project aims at opening up the public area in front of the beach for tourism. There, local entrepreneurial women will open and run their own craft stalls.