The Costa Rican Chinese Reconstructing Society (SORESCO) will continue to generate a monthly expenditure of $ 150 thousand (¢ 84 million), despite the fact that Costa Ricans do not and will not get any benefits.
This amount, partly paid by the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE), is allocated, among other expenses, for the salary of 8 employees (3 Costa Ricans and 5 Chinese) whose work is still unknown.
RECOPE assured that it tried to dissolve this failed partnership, which has caused the country to waste millions of dollars since 2009, when the negotiation with China was made for a new refinery, under the administration of Óscar Arias Sánchez.
However, the second partner of SORESCO, China’s National Oil Corporation (CNPCI) opposed the dissolution, so the company will continue to operate despite the fact that neither party will obtain profits and the works stopped in 2013.
Sara Salazar, President of RECOPE, indicated that the decisions of the company are effective when they are taken unanimously, so if only one member opposes, there is no agreement.
Following the intervention of the Comptroller General (which stopped the operations of the company in 2013) and the constant criticism to RECOPE, the refinery decided to stop being a partner since last April.
However, at the last Assembly on January 11, 2017, held in Beijing, China, CNPCI opposed the following proposals by RECOPE:
-Dissolving and liquidating SORESCO by mutual consent due to the unfeasibility of continuing with the project.
-Dissolving and liquidating SORESCO based on the Costa Rican legal system.
-Discussing the payment of salaries, expatriation fees and other benefits to staff after the dissolution of SORESCO.
-The reduction of the current staff of SORESCO (8 people).
At the same meeting, CNPCI claimed they were entitled to receive compensation for damages and prejudices as a result of non-compliance with the agreement of the society and RECOPE’s decision to dissolve it.
SORESCO already spent $67,755,127 of the 100 million dollars it had, ($ 50 million of which were contributed by Costa Ricans.)
Expenditures will continue to grow, both for CNPCI and for RECOPE, while the refinery’s hierarchs study the scenarios for international arbitrage to put an end to the debate.