The Chinese company that will widen a road between San José and Limón, took over the cost of an environmental impact study for avoiding further delays on the roadworks.
The impact study is required by the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank).
80 percent of Costa Rica’s exports travel through route 32. The project intends to add more lanes to the current two-lane track.
The project will cost $465 million of which $395 million will come from the Chinese bank’s credit and the Costa Rican state will contribute with $100 million more.
The Costa Rican government claimed that it didn’t had funds to pay for the environmental impact study. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) hired a Costa Rican company for $160,000 to take over the study.
The study was ordered on last January, before the government issued an official order to start the roadworks. According to government officials, this procedure wasn’t illegal.
Source: La Nación.