The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, June 26, 2003

THE ROADMAP FOR ROAD WORK: Transport Minister Javier Chaves (L) signs highway contract with Andre Dufour, of SNC-Lavalin.
TT/Julio Lainez

Blue Bee Mascot, Football Clinic Highlight Trade Delegation
Who dat? That may just be what many Costa Ricans are saying after next week's visit by a trade delegation from New Orleans. In addition to the mundane port and tourism officials, the delegation is bringing along a furry blue bee and sports officials to teach kids to play what for this country is the exotic sport of U.S. football.
(Click for more)

Pacific-Coast Highway Contract Signed
Three decades after the project was originally proposed, the long-anticipated highway connecting San José to the central Pacific port town of Caldera may soon become a reality.
(Click for more)

World Bank Poverty Report Released
Poverty rates in Costa Rica have remained unchanged during the last decade, despite an increase in social spending, according to the results of a 10-year study on poverty, education and health care conducted by the World Bank.
(Click for more)

Return To Top Of Page

June 26

Bowling for Columbine
Join the Democrats abroad for the Academy Award winning film, A modern satire to make you laugh, and think. Including bocas and cash bar. Sat., July 5at 5p.m. at the Tennis Club, south Sabana Park. Info. 249-1856.

II International Flamenco Festival García Lorca
Don’t miss it! Thurs.-Sun., June 26-29 at 8 p.m. at the National Theater, Av. 2, Ca. 3/5. Info: 438-1127, 379-3261.

Alajuela Band in Concert
Enjoy at 7:30 p.m., the tunes of this band at Juan Santamaría Museum, Alajuela. Info: 441-4775.

Blue Bee Mascot, Football Clinic
Highlight Trade Delegation
By Brian Harris
bharris@ticotimes.net

Who dat?

That may just be what many Costa Ricans are saying after next week's visit by a trade delegation from New Orleans. In addition to the mundane port and tourism officials, the delegation is bringing along a furry blue bee and sports officials to teach kids to play what for this country is the exotic sport of U.S. football.

The question is, is Costa Rica ready to laisez le bon temp rullez?

With front-office officials from New Orlean's three main professional sports franchises - the National Football League's Saints, the National Basketball Association's Hornets and the AAA baseball Pacific Coast League's Zyphers - coming along, the delegation promises to be anything but boring. The Hornet's blue bee mascot Hugo the Hornet and the Saints' mascot Gumbo are also scheduled to make the trip here.

The public gets its chance to participate on Wednesday and Thursday, when Saints officials hold clinics to teach basic American football skills like passing and kicking to boys and girls ages 8-15 years old at the National Stadium in San José's La Sabana Park. Both Hugo and Gumbo are slated to be at the clinics, signing autographs and demonstrating their skills.

The mascots will also visit the National Children's Hospital and the Aldeas SOS shelter for abandoned kids in Tres Ríos. The team officials, including former NBA player Rob Werdann who now works for the Hornets, will also offer a sports marketing seminar for local sports teams and associations on Thursday.

Hugo the Hornet is the NBA's three-time mascot slam-dunk champion, showing greater staying power than the team, which recently relocated from Charlotte, North Carolina. Gumbo is a furry Saint Bernard who wears a full uniform and leads cheers in the 60,000-seat Superdome.

The football clinics start at 10 a.m., last two hours and are free. About 500 kids are expected to participate in each. Most of the delegation's other events are by invitation only, although the group will also be at the 4th of July picnic at the Cervercería Costa Rica plant, open for free to all U.S. citizens and their families.

Return To Top Of Page

Pacific-Coast Highway Contract Signed
By Fabián Borges
Tico Times Staff

Three decades after the project was originally proposed, the long-anticipated highway connecting San José to the central Pacific port town of Caldera may soon become a reality.

Montreal-based construction SNC-Lavalin this week was granted a government contract to build and operate the highway.

"The government and the entire country feel great satisfaction at finally being able to bring to life a dream we have been waiting for the last 30 years," said Transport Minister Javier Chaves, minutes before signing the country's first major highway concession. "This is a project that has taken Costa Rica an entire generation to complete, but we're almost there."

The new highway will cover a distance of 76.8 km (47.7 miles) and is estimated to cost $150 million to build.

Through granting the concession, the government will avoid paying the construction costs and will allow SNC-Lavalin and Argentine firm Cartelone to build and operate the highway during the first 25 years. To cover its initial investment and profit from the venture, the consortium will charge a toll to all vehicles traveling on the highway.

The highway will be built in three separate phases. The first step will be to expand and improve the 14.2 km-long Próspero Fernández Highway between San José and the western suburb of Ciudad Colón .

Next, a 38.8-km three-lane road will be built connecting Ciudad Colón with Pacific-slope town of Orotina. Finally, the 23.8-km road between Orotina and Caldera will be expanded, repaved and renamed José María Castro Madriz highway, in honor of the country's first president.

The new roads will use the bridges over the Virilla, Ciruelas and Grande rivers, which were built by the government in 2001, but have never been used.

The highway is expected to reduce travel time to the Pacific coast by 30 minutes to one hour. The entire highway will have pay-phones, emergency services, lighting, rest stops, and its own tow-truck service.

"Many Costa Ricans probably doubt the new highway will really be built," Chaves said. "Previous governments have announced the building of this highway many times, but something always came up that canceled their plans."

Two hurdles remain before work on the project can begin. First, the contract must be approved and validated by the Comptroller General's Office.

If the contract is approved, Lavalin and Cartelone will have nine months to find financing for the project. Both the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Central American Integration Bank (BCIE) last month announced they would be willing to provide low-interest loans to cover the highway's construction costs.

If all goes well, work on the project will begin during the first semester of 2004 and should end in April 2006, one month before President Abel Pacheco leaves office, Chaves said.

Return To Top Of Page

World Bank Poverty Report Released
By Fabián Borges
Tico Times Staff

Poverty rates in Costa Rica have remained unchanged during the last decade, despite an increase in social spending, according to the results of a 10-year study on poverty, education and health care conducted by the World Bank.

"Costa Rica cannot significantly reduce poverty levels if the government's only strategy is to increase social spending," said Helena Ribe, the study's author. "Institutions must undergo structural reforms to increase their efficiency and improve resource management."

The majority of Costa Rican poor live in rural areas, where access to education and health care is limited. Single mothers are in charge of nearly half of the country's poor families, the report found.

Over the last decade, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has dropped from 27% to 21% and life expectancy has risen to 76.7 years, according to the study. Infant mortality (10.3 deaths for every 1000 births) is among the lowest in Latin America.

But despite small victories, the root causes of poverty persist.

The country's biggest weakness is its inability to expand social services to rural areas, according to Ribe. Traditional strategies used to fight poverty are no longer working, and there is an urgent need to improve efficiency at public institutions, the report concluded.

One of the biggest concerns cited in the study is the growing high-school dropout rate.

According to report, only one in three Ticos over 20 has a high-school diploma. Every year, 23,000 elementary and 19,000 high-school students drop out. Nearly 10% of elementary school students and 19% of high-school students have failed at least one grade.

The report recommends improving scholarship, school-lunch and busing programs, and improving basic reading comprehension, writing and math skills in rural areas.

Despite advances in efforts to decentralize the country's basic health-care facilities through Basic Attention Health Stations (EBAIS), 10% of the population still has limited access to Social Security's (Caja) services, according to the report. Long lines at public hospitals persist.

Women's Affairs Ministers Esmeralda Britton criticized the report for not paying enough attention to the effects of poverty on children and women, and practically ignoring the issue of unemployment.

Return To Top Of Page