The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has told the Guanacaste Chamber of Tourism it will begin work on the remaining ten-kilometer section of the Belen to Huacas road within three weeks.
Pedro Castro Fernández, Vice Minister of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transporte (MOPT) told the chamber late this week heavy machinery would be ready to start work on the section between El Llano and Cartagena 'in 15 days to three weeks.'
The work is understood to include a sealed, asphalt surface.
Ana Saborío, the vice president of the chamber of tourism, was told Thursday that the process by which heavy engineering companies bid upon the contract to fix the Belén to Huacas road had been completed.
'I understand the contract has been adjudicated and a draft document drawn up,' said Ms Saborío. 'They are just waiting for final approval from the Comptroller General's Office.' 'He promised me it would be finished by December,' Ms Saborío added.
Word on works for the remaining section of the road comes after intense lobbying by the chamber of tourism, which has seen the key tourist artery almost destroyed in places. Traffic has been reduced to a crawl for up to ten kilometers (about six miles).
Last week the vice minister told The Beach Times his ministry needed 250 million colones (about $482,000) to complete the road.
'We know the road situation affects tourism and that is why we are making a concerted effort with scant financial resources to do repairs and maintenance on those roads with the most tourism traffic,' Mr Castro said.
Mr Castro said the ministry's priority was the Inter-American Road which would be widened to four lanes between Barranca and Limonal (the intersection to the Tempisque Bridge). He said there was no budget to seal the entire network of unsealed roads.
'There are a total of 4500 kilometers (2800 miles) of sealed roads and some 3500 kilometers (2200 miles) of unpaved roads, which is a huge quantity,' he said. 'We are going to select the more important unpaved roads to seal and if others have to remain unpaved, then they will receive maintenance.
'Additionally, there are projects to be finished like the route from Santa Elena to Monteverde, a contract which was awarded late in the year and with luck will begin in November,' Mr Castro said.
The vice minister had good news for Tamarindo residents, saying the government was looking to seal the 15 kilometer section between 27 de Abril-Villareal and Santa Cruz. 'We are seriously considering the option of sealing the route,' the vicde minister said. 'It is a small distance and it's a very important route for tourism and much used in the region. 'Definitely the budget for that road will be considered next year,' he said.
Samara Gets First Look At Coastal Plan
About 120 residents of Samara and Nosara got a first-hand look last week at the way in which the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism wants their coastline to develop.
A town meeting was shown a draft of what is termed a Plan Regulador Integral, effectively a blue print for what kind of building and development will be allowed, and where.
The Regulatory Plan, which will cover more than 15 kilometers of coastline, will include Playa Samara, Playa Carrillo, Puerto Carrillo and Punta Islita.
Critically, the regulatory plan only takes in the maritime zone, that area 150 meters above the water line.
Guillermo Miranda, an architect with the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT), told the meeting the plan would represent a new proposal and should re-organise those areas that should remain forested and other areas which could be put to commercial or residential use. The Municipality of Nicoya has been inefficient and there are many things that have led to increasing disorganization,” Mr Miranda told the meeting.
“The Comptroller General’s Office has found anomalies and there are several complaints about the misuse of the maritime zone,” he added.
MAYORAL ELECTION 2007-2011
Mayors Wanted for Carrillo, Hojancha, Nicoya, La Cruz
On December 3, 81 Mayors will be popularly elected throughout the country for just the second time in history.
But burgeoning foreign communities from Playa Hermosa in the north Pacific to Manuel Antonio in the south and across the country along the Caribbean will have little, if any, say in the matter.
In some instances, the candidates are aware of the strength of their non-voting constituency, and how once elected, achieving the goals set for their municipalities depends greatly on the income generated through the taxation of businesses, hotels and the building boom along coastal towns.
In the past year, for example, Santa Cruz became one of the fastest growing municipalities in the country with a 250 per cent increase in construction.
But in other cases, the synergies are not yet understood and the abysmal divide between the traditional interests of local municipalities and the increasing needs of the coastal communities is at times wrenchingly clear.
Take Lorenzo Rosales Vargas, Nicoya’s mayoral candidate for the ruling Party Liberación Nacional (PLN), for example.
“If the newspaper is in English, I don’t care to speak with you,” he said bluntly. “What do the gringos care what happens here…they just come looking to take away all the riches.”
This, from a candidate who will oversee the collective fates of rapidly-growing beach communities like Nosara and Sámara. Repeated attempts failed to sway him. Other candidates, some bidding for re-election and others with previous administrative experience are more conciliatory, speaking of solving common problems like security, roads and maritime zone issues.
“One of the priorities of the development of the municipality has to do with the maritime zone in Nosara and Sámara,” said Félix Ángel Vásquez Jiménez, the candidate for the Citizens’ Action Party (PAC) in Nicoya and a former mayor himself.
“I believe in the participation of each district represented by different groups.”
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