The Miniter of Transport, Pedro Castro, met with the mayors of seven municipalities in the province of Alajuela on Friday, to discuss the concession contract for the San José- San Ramón road.
Following some eight hours of discussion, the government agreed to extend the timetable for the start of construction. The project was to get off the ground in five months, but now it may be delayed several months to allow a renegotiation of the contract.
Castro said he has not given the order to start the work and will not do so until the conclusion of a review of all the criteria.
Roberto Thompson, the mayor of the municipality of Alajuela, said “regardless of the delay, the work should not start as long as there are doubts.”
“We want the road”, indicated the Mayela Mora, the mayor of San Ramón. Mora, however, maintains firm that there are concerns to be addressed.
The meeting ended with an agreement between the Cental Government and the local municipalities of San Ramon, Zarcero, Naranjo, Grecia, Alajuela, Palmares and Valverde Vega, not to restrict the concessionaire, the Brazilian company OAS, to work on plans, expropriation and environmental permits.
The agreement, however, does allow each municipality to reserve the right to deviate from the final decisions, if “their” objectivesare not met.
