How much is the total investment of the MOPT in the country’s roads and ports and what percentage corresponds to the Inter-American Development Bank? 

Investment in road infrastructure works currently amounts to USD 1.55 billion, mainly from the Exim Bank of China, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The amount of recourse for the latter is around 46% of the total investment. There are currently no significant investments in ports, although the Moín Container Terminal in the Caribbean has recently been put into operation.

What progress would you highlight regarding the PIT?

The commencement of operations of the improvement of National Route 160, between Playa Naranjo and Paquera, in April 2021, has meant a change in the mobility dynamics of the North Pacific peninsular area and has provided important support to tourist activity. Through the commencement order for the improvements of the ferry terminal in Puerto Paquera, the connectivity of several cantons and districts by land or sea to the rest of the country will also be improved. Finally, the execution of the Angostura project will further improve mobility to and from the peninsula.

Furthermore, we will soon put into operation the Limonal-Cañas section of National Route 1, with the widening of the Route 1 from two to four lanes. These works also have a very positive impact on national and international land connectivity.

What about new projects envisaged within the PIV-APP?

The PIV-APP is a programme that has public-private partnership (PPA) from various fields at its core. Firstly, the construction of interchanges and improvements of Taras-La Lima on National Route 2, which is located in one of the areas of greatest demand in the Greater Metropolitan Area and in a major hub for the development of industrial and technological activity, which is attracting national and international companies. With this work, which is part of a comprehensive project to improve National Route 2 from San José to Cartago, we will improve the three km of the entrance to the city of Cartago. This government contribution to a potential private initiative for the improvement of the entire road corridor generates greater confidence and lower fees, which would make the initiative socially viable.

On the other hand, there is the San José-San Ramón Corridor Trust Fund’s Non-Delayable Works (OBIS) package 4, which both in its dynamic benefits, as well as its structuring, shares many characteristics with what was outlined above regarding Taras-La Lima. It consists of the construction of five interchanges (San Ramón, Naranjo, Grecia, Río Segundo and Juan Pablo Segundo), which will complement other OBIS packages that constitute the government’s contribution to the comprehensive development of the Trust Fund and will help with the viability, confidence and social acceptance of the project, among other aspects.

Finally, this programme also includes a component of consultations and studies to support and strengthen institutions in the area of public-private partnerships (APPs).

The investment in the PIT brings nearly USD 270 million including major improvements to the Interamericana Norte, Costa Rica’s main land logistics corridor, where the carriageway will be doubled to four lanes along 70 km

Your country forms a key stage of the Pan-American Highway. Is there institutional collaboration on infrastructure connecting Panama and Nicaragua? If so, in which projects?

Both within the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and the Mesoamerica Project, the development of two corridors (Pacific and Atlantic) and their interconnections, from Puebla, Mexico, to Panama City, has been contemplated.

The investment in the PIT contributes close to USD 270 million in infrastructure, improving the Route 1 from Barranca to Cañas -just over 70 km – doubling the roadway from two to four lanes, incorporating all modernisation and road safety features and meeting the highest design standards. This will improve vehicle operating costs and substantially reduce travel times.

In logistics studies developed by the IDB, based on Costa Rica’s National Transport Plan 2011-2035, it has been determined that the main land logistics corridor in Costa Rica is that which runs between the Greater Metropolitan Area and the Peñas Blancas border. The 70 kilometres being upgraded on the Route 1 are part of this corridor. 

Finally, within the scope of SIECA and the Mesoamerica Project, there is support and coordination between the different countries that belong to them. In the case of SIECA, the Central American region, and in the case of the Mesoamerica Project, from Mexico to Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

In the Mesoamerica Project, Costa Rica coordinates the Transport Commission and is supported by multilateral cooperation agencies.

In a country with such a wealth of fauna and biodiversity, how do you plan to reconcile works and extensions with the conservation of the different ecosystems?

All programmes under development, including road projects, have considered, from the study and design stagea, the identification of biological corridors. Where these interact with the roads being upgraded, ‘hot spots’ have been identified where wildlife overpasses or subways have been implemented. Considerations have also been taken to adapt the design of bridges, where required, as well as to protect riverbeds.

The terrain and the high levels of rainfall are conditioning factors for the construction of roads. What conclusions have you drawn from these years of experience? How does it affect construction and subsequent maintenance?

Indeed, although our country is not very large, it stands out for the richness of its diversity. Therefore, when carrying out projects, we frequently encounter unforeseen events, including geologically unstable areas that have created problems when disturbed due to water, weight or other factors.

The study of the New San Carlos Road is an example in which all the variables necessary for adequate design and risk management are included; and specialists from various fields have been brought in to look for ways to improve the conditions that were originally proposed for the road and which caused problems.

With regard to the management of rainfall conditions, design standards have been adopted in new works to enable requirements to be adequately scaled.  However, the operation and maintenance of the National Road Network remains a challenge due to the large number of roads that need to be upgraded. 

Work has been carried out to the highest quality standards, major challenges have been overcome and all the projects will create many benefits for the country’s inhabitants

Which projects are expected to be completed by 2022?

The improvement of the NR 1 between Limonal and Cañas and that of La Angostura, on the NR17.

And which project are you most satisfied with?

It is very difficult to choose one of the works. Work has been carried out to the highest quality standards, major challenges have been overcome and all the projects bring us closer and create many benefits for the country’s inhabitants. All of them have been defined for a decade in the National Transport Plan and are part of a roadmap to follow in order to be competitive. 

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) of Costa Rica has extended the contract with Ineco for the administrative, technical, legal and environmental management of the Transport Infrastructure Programme (PIT) for another 32 months, until 2023. The programme, financed by two loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), for a total of 450 million dollars, includes ten strategically important actions on roads and ports (see ITRANSPORTE 62). After winning the international tender held by the MOPT and the IDB in 2016, Ineco is acting as the Programme Execution Unit, in charge of planning and monitoring all of the technical and administrative tasks, in close collaboration with the Ministry.

According to the MOPT, the contract has been extended to adjust to changes in the planning of PIT actions, to which it has added three more road projects: construction of road links in Taras and Cartago, doubling of 2.4 kilometres in La Angostura, in Puntarenas, and extension and rehabilitation of 70.8 kilometres of the Northern Inter-American Highway, between Barranca, Limonal and Cañas. The PIT, which is part of Costa Rica’s National Transport Plan 2011-2035, includes seven other projects to improve and expand roads in different parts of the country and three works in ports.

Ineco will be designing the project to widen a 25.2-kilometre stretch of road between San Gerardo and Barranca, part of the Northern Inter-American Highway, from two to four lanes, as part of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport  Transportation’s Infrastructure Programme (PIT), which is being managed by a consortium that includes Ineco and Acciona.

Over the last decade, Costa Rica has undertaken several action plans to improve its transport infrastructure, an objective with which Ineco has been collaborating since 2004 with work that has included a modernisation plan for the airport network, a National Transport Plan and a feasibility study for the implementation of a rail transport system in the metropolitan area of the capital, San José (see ITRANSPORTE 50).

Improvement programmes for all transport networks continue, and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is now working on a new one, known as the Transportation Infrastructure Programme (PIT), financed by two loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to the tune of 450 million dollars. To carry out all administrative, technical and environmental management of the projects, the Ministry, in collaboration with the IDB, issued an international call for tenders which was won by a consortium formed by Ineco and Acciona. Since mid-2016, the consortium has been responsible for the comprehensive management of the programme, which includes infrastructure projects of strategic importance for roads and ports which will complete and provide continuity to previous ones.

This is the case with the design of the upgrading and widening to four lanes of three stretches of the RN-1 Northern Inter-American Highway between the towns of Cañas and Barranca. This section is part of the Inter-American Highway, which is the name for the Central American section of the Pan-American Highway, an extremely long network of roads measuring 48,000 kilometres in total that runs the entire length of the continent from Alaska to Ushuaia in Argentina. The Costa Rican section of this road is of great importance for the internal mobility of people and goods. It crosses the entire country in two large sections, known as the Northern and Southern Inter-American Highways, and the PIT includes several design projects aimed at different points along this important road.

Since 2004, Ineco has collaborated on several programmes to improve Costa Rica’s transport infrastructure

In terms of the Northern Inter-American Highway, the plan is to widen approximately 70 kilometres of road to four lanes on the Cañas-Limonal, Limonal-San Gerardo and San Gerardo-Barranca stretches. Also included is the construction of hard shoulders, pavements and pedestrian crossings in populated areas, crossings for wildlife and bicycle lanes. The MOPT, with the support of consortium staff, has met with the residents of the area to inform them about the projects, hear their questions and suggestions and promote road safety measures. This action will provide continuity to another one that started in 2016 on the 50.5-kilometre stretch between Cañas and Liberia, which was widened to four lanes in a previous programme, also financed by the IDB.

KEY PROJECTS.
The PIT includes work on strategically important roads and ports located throughout the country. / IMAGE_RAQUEL HERNÁNDEZ (INECO)

At the other end of the road, on the Southern Inter-American Highway, the PIT includes another important project: the upgrading and widening to four lanes of the 93-kilometre stretch between Palmar Norte and Paso Canoas. 75% of the international trade between Costa Rica and Panama passes through this city of approximately 11,000 inhabitants, with half of the city belonging to each country. The location of the border here means that road traffic of people and goods in both directions is intense: according to the MOPT’s 2017 figures, an average of 7,297 vehicles pass through this point every day. In this case, the Ministry also met with those affected by the project.

The programme includes projects for road upgrades and widening in other parts of the territory as well, such as the 40.7-kilometre stretch between Birmania (Upala) and Santa Cecilia and La Cruz (Guanacaste) in the north. The works include improvement and adaptation of the stretch, including resurfacing, the installation of hard shoulders, drains, new bridges, improvements in road signs and installation of bus stops on the section between Birmania and Santa Cecilia; and the upgrading and/or widening to two lanes of the bridges on the road between Santa Cecilia and La Cruz, all on the RN-4. The designs are currently being finalised.

In the centre of the country, the PIT is considering designs for two interchanges (links), namely those in La Lima and Taras, located at the entrances to Cartago, Costa Rica’s second largest city and an important industrial zone, dedicated above all to the technological sector and the manufacture of medical supplies. Freight transport activities and proximity to the capital, located only 24 kilometres away, cause congestion in this area, which the new links would alleviate.

THE INECO-ACCIONA TEAM. The team performs ‘programme execution unit’ tasks and is responsible for the planning and monitoring of all technical and administrative work.

To the west of the capital is the Nicoya Peninsula and the Gulf of Nicoya. In one of the countries of the world with the greatest biodiversity, this sparsely populated area has two national parks and a large number of nature reserves for wildlife and other protected areas, as well as beaches and islands of great scenic and natural beauty which attract tourism. The PIT includes two design projects that would improve both land and maritime connections on the peninsula: the upgrading of the 25-kilometre RN-160 road that joins the towns of Playa Naranjo and Paquera and improvement of the facilities of the ferry terminals located in both communities. The design includes resurfacing and improvement of the geometry of the road by reducing the steepest gradients. Drains, wildlife crossings, three new bridges and a bicycle lane are also planned. In the towns, the plan is to build pavements and adapt the characteristics of the road to the urban setting with facilities such as pedestrian crossings and bus lay-bys.

maritime mode

Maritime transport is also essential for Costa Rica in terms of goods: the PIT includes projects for  upgrading and reinforcing the breakwater in Puerto Caldera, the most important port on the Costa Rican Pacific coast and the second largest in the country; in 2016, 5.5 million tons of goods, mainly grain, fertiliser, raw materials and flour, passed through it in bulk and in containers. It is also the main entry point for importing vehicles from Asia. It is connected to San José by Route 27, a 90-kilometre toll road managed by a concession company since 2006.

The PIT includes plans for upgrading and reinforcing the breakwater in Puerto Caldera, the most important port on the Costa Rican Pacific coast and the second largest in the country

This action will join a series of modernisation and widening works not included in the PIT which will expand the current capacity and reduce vessel waiting times. All of this needs to be included in the Pacific Coast Master Plan, which is also part of the PIT.

Ineco’s work

In order to ensure that all of the designs are carried out on time and, that they comply with all technical and environmental requirements, the Ineco-Acciona consortium acts as an overall manager and carries out a wide variety of administrative, technical, legal and environmental tasks, in addition to technical and economic-financial control and supervision.

Another one of the tasks of the consortium as the “execution unit” of the PIT is social management, which involves, for example, organising meetings with owners and residents, both to inform them about the projects and to hear their petitions and suggestions. These meetings also emphasize another very important aspect: road safety.

The internal operation of the programme is governed by the principles of the Project Management Institute, and progress is monitored continuously using a  series of applications of the Programme Execution Plan (PEP).

Roads and ports, vital for Costa Rica

Ferry moored in the port of Paquera. / PHOTO_ JEFF MOORE (FLICKR)

In a mountainous territory measuring only 51,000 km², reduced land distances and difficult terrain mean that road transport is preferred over the railway. The road network has increased in the last 10 years by 7,470 kilometres, reaching more than 42,800, of which around 8,000 kilometres are state owned and the rest regional (cantons). Congestion, road accidents and the need to improve facilities and maintenance are the main problems, as set out in the 2015-2018 National Development Plan. Periodic reports, such as that by the National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models (Lanamme), part of the University of Costa Rica, in 2017,  reveal that, although the situation of the road network as a whole has improved, only 7.8% is in good condition and 42.5% (2,170 kilometres) is ‘poor’.

At the same time, the geographical situation of Costa Rica in the Central American Isthmus, with coasts on two oceans, means that its ports are of great importance, particularly for exports. The country has two main ports: Caldera, on the Pacific, and Limón-Moín, on the Caribbean. The latter’s main business is goods traffic, especially agricultural –bananas, pineapples, coffee, etc.– and cruises. The positive evolution of the economy, which grew from 3.7% in 2015 to 4.1% in 2016, has increased the demand for port services, which is why facilities need to be expanded and improved in order to prevent delays. The country has other ports such as Puntarenas (fishing and cruises), which has a cabotage service between the towns of Paquera and Playa Naranjo on the Nicoya Peninsula. Other important ports are Quepos and Punta Morales on the Pacific.

In March, Carlos Villalta, minister of Public Works and Transport of Costa Rica, signed with Jesús Silva, president of Ineco and Luis Baz, the general director of Acciona Ingeniería, the contract for the management of Costa Rica´s Transport Infrastructure Programme (PIT).

With an investment of around 450 million euros, the PIT’s aim is to contribute to the development of local transport through the improvement of road and port infrastructure, facilitating the flow of trade and the regional economic integration of Costa Rica.

The PIT includes actions in seven road projects and three port projects, with works in renovation, reconstruction, paving, road enlargement, improvements to road safety, bridge enlargements and the construction and improvement of porta.

Ineco has been present in Costa Rica since 2004, where it has carried out works such as the National Transport Plan, the Comprehensive Plan for the Modernisation of the Airport Network and the study on the implementation of a rail transport system in the metropolitan area of the capital, San José (IT50).

The Bus Transport Strategic Plan for the Sultanate of Oman will provide the country with a public transport that is modern, efficient, sustainable and equipped with smart technology. The project involves a complete overhaul of both the supply –including new urban and interurban routes– and management of this means of transport in the Sultanate, where the use of private vehicles is heavy.

Throughout these pages we are privileged to have the perspective of Ahmed Al Bulushi, who is piloting the transition towards the future of the company Mwasalat, the national bus operator of Oman. We also address other works abroad, such as that carried out with Aena Internacional at the airport in the capital of Angola –4 de Fevereiro International Airport (Luanda)– the only international airport in the country for which Ineco conducted the operational safety study. Finally, we have dedicated an extensive report to the aeronautical study conducted for the expansion of the Port of Kaohsiung in Taiwan, where the installation of high-altitude cranes may interfere with international airport operations.

Internationalisation has irrefutably been a key event in recent years, a result of the experience and knowledge acquired over the course of decades developing Spanish infrastructure. In this regard, I am pleased to announce the contract signing with the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Works and Transport for management of the Transport Infrastructure Programme (PIT). It is a new opportunity to strengthen ties with a country that Ineco has collaborated with for years, and that we wish to continue supporting in its development.

We are privileged to have the perspective of Ahmed Al Bulushi, who is piloting the transition of the company Mwasalat towards the future

With Ineco’s new showroom –described on the inner pages– we strive to reflect the know-how of Spanish construction and engineering firms and their experience and impact around the world. The new Centre for Interpretation –which I invite our clients and friends to come visit– was recently inaugurated at our central headquarters in Madrid. It is a visit that I am sure will provide great insight into the scope of our works.

Finally, we complete this space with articles from our experts on highly-specialised projects such as variable gauge facilities –a technology pioneered by Spain–, water studies to protect high-speed lines or Big Data and transport. With the publication of these studies and works we hope to contribute to the dissemination of these new technologies in addition to engaging our readers.