The government proposed the year 2020 to start the first stage of the Limonense Electric Freight Train (Telca), for which it is anticipating an investment of $440 million.
The first stage of the project will include 112 kilometers between Río Frío and Limón and a 60-kilometer branch to Valle La Estrella.
A second phase, still to be defined, is the expansion of 30 kilometers between Río Frío and Chilamate. The executive president of the Costa Rican Institute of Railways (Incofer), Elizabeth Briceño, said that the bases will be set so that in a possible third phase they are able to connect Chilamate to Muelle de San Carlos.
The objective of this project is to promote the transport of cargo through the railroad with a source of clean and renewable energy, and clear route 32 – which leads to Limón – and boost the local economy.
The first task facing the government is the feasibility, economic, technical, financial and environmental study of the work, for which it had to turn to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration for financing. The cost of the study is $750 thousand.
On Wednesday, the government announced that the contest for companies interested in doing this study is open until March 18th. The plan is for this study to be completed in 2019.