Daily Edition: San
José, Costa Rica, August 29, 2003
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Government Announces $25 Million
Urban Renovation Project in Limón
President Abel Pacheco and Public Works and Transport Minister Javier Chaves
this week announced a $250 million, eight-year urban-renewal plan aimed at
creating new jobs, attracting tourism and improving the quality of life in
the Caribbean port city of Limón.
(Click for more)
New Orleans Delegation Visit to Discuss Cooperation Institute
Representatives from the New Orleans Mayor's Office for Economic Development
(MOED) visited Costa Rica this week to discuss plans to create a Central
American Trade-Capacity Institute.
(Click for
more)
'A Todo Dar' Dance Team Investigated
A five-member Brazilian dance troupe featured on the enormously popular
Costa Rican entertainment television program "A Todo Dar" is reportedly
under investigation for having false immigration stamps in their passports,
according to a judicial investigative police source.
August 29
Alanis Concert Update
Fans of the singer can start buying the tickets at Arenas Skate n’ Surf
Stores. According to the organizers, tickets go on sale Saturday or, at the
latest, on Monday. For further information call 253-9000.
Amighetti
Dance, music and visual arts show, Fri.-Sat., Aug. 29-30, at 7:30 p.m., at
the Eugene O’Neal Theater, C.R.-North American Cultural Center, Barrio Dent.
Info: 207-4271.
Voices of the World
Gala Concert by Teresa de Bari and Federico Longhi with Costa Rican pianists
Gustavo Castro and José F. Víquez: Fri., Aug. 29, 8 p.m.; Concert by
Antonella Ruggiero (Light and Popular Italian Music), Sat., Aug. 30, 8 p.m.;
Concert by Fabricio Moro (Pop-Rock Italian Singer) and Sonsax, Sun., Aug.
31, 8 p.m., all at the National Auditorium, Children’s Museum, Ca. 4, Av. 9.
Info: 257-2817.
Government Announces $25 Million
Urban Renovation Project in Limón
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net
 Limón has not changed much in the last 20 years. TT photo |
President Abel Pacheco and Public Works and Transport
Minister Javier Chaves this week announced a $250 million, eight-year
urban-renewal plan aimed at creating new jobs, attracting tourism and
improving the quality of life in the Caribbean port city of Limón.
Last week, Chaves proposed the project -- named "Limón: Port City" -- to the
World Bank, which agreed to donate $500,000 this year to fund the project's
master plan. The institution agreed to gradually begin lending the country
the rest of the money next year and provide technical assistance to help in
the plan's implementation.
"I've always been concerned about Limón; after all, I was born there,"
Pacheco said. "The local economy has always depended on JAPDEVA (the
Atlantic Port Authority) and the jobs it provides. For several decades, the
port has been the main source of employment for Limonences. Our goal is to
create new job sources and bring progress to the city."
Limón is the country's poorest and least developed province. The average
monthly family income is ˘149,000 ($373), compared to the national average
of ˘235,000 ($588).
One-quarter of its population lives under the poverty line, compared to a
20% poverty rate nationwide. It has an illiteracy rate of 7.7% and the
country's highest infant mortality rate.
The program will provide Limón with the boost it needs to start growing and
finally overcome its traditional problems, Chaves said.
"This is a very ambitious program that, over the next eight years, will
inject a great deal of money into the local economy with the goal of
improving the quality of life of its residents," he explained. "Our goal is
to transform Limón from a center for shipping cargo into a thriving city
with multiple employment opportunities."
The project will be divided into three phases. The first step will be to
expand nearby Port Moín and transform it into the Caribbean coast's primary
shipping port, Chaves said.
The second step will be to renovate Limón and make it a more desirable place
to live and visit. Major investments will be made to improve local
health-care facilities and garbage collection, making the city a safer
place, and improving telecom infrastructure.
To make it easier to travel to and from the city, Chaves said, the road
connecting San José to Limón through Siquirres will be expanded and repaved,
and the local airstrip will be repaired and renovated.
The third step will be to create new jobs by attracting tourism and foreign
investment. The docks currently used for loading cargo will be modified to
handle Caribbean cruise ships and the warehouses located along the
waterfront will be transformed into restaurants and arts and crafts shops.
Local residents will receive training on how to run their own businesses and
an effort will be made to attract foreign investment, the Minister said.
Chaves hopes call centers can be created as a source of employment, as most
Limón natives speak English.
He also rejected rumors the project is part of a plan to privatize JAPDEVA.
"This is a permanent long-term development plan. Its final results won't be
visible right away," he said. "In the meantime, the new infrastructure
projects will create many new jobs, but it's the long-term effects that will
most benefit Limón. Instead of giving the city's population a handout of
fish, we're investing in teaching them how to fish."
New Orleans Delegation Visit
to Discuss Cooperation Institute
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net
Representatives from the New Orleans Mayor's Office for
Economic Development (MOED) visited Costa Rica this week to discuss plans to
create a Central American Trade-Capacity Institute.
During the sixth round of free-trade talks between Central America and the
U.S., the city of New Orleans agreed to create an international trade center
to train Central American producers to take advantage of the upcoming
treaty, scheduled to go into effect in early 2005 (TT, Aug. 1, 8, 15).
"During the CAFTA negotiations, we looked into creating long-term
opportunities that would help us develop our city and benefit Central
America," Beth James, director of the MOED explained. "The purpose of the
trip is to listen to Costa Rica, get to know its needs and get a better
feeling for how the institute could help the country."
The institute will be based in New Orleans but will have branches in all
five Central American countries. Its board of directors will include
representatives from each country, the U.S. and the mayor's office. The type
of training services it will provide will be decided by the producers
themselves.
Through Louisiana's universities, the institute will offer training seminars
and advanced graduate programs for Central American exporters, owners of
small and medium companies and agricultural producers.
"We're currently conducting an inventory of existing academic programs in
Louisiana, as well as working with the government and university sectors to
understand the inventory of programs available here," John Tamalange,
Executive Director of MOED said. "We want to coordinate existing programs
and improve their efficiency."
The center will be funded by the Organization of American States (OAS), as
well as other public and private sectors institutions. Members of MOED will
travel to the Washington, D.C. next week to meet with several potential
sources of funding.
"We want a balance in the sources of funding so that no specific funder's
agenda controls the institute," Talamange said. "We are searching for
sources of funding Central American countries, and especially Costa Rica,
are comfortable with."
It's still unclear when the institute will formally open its doors. However,
MOED hopes to have the scholarship program up and running sometime next
year.
"The city of New Orleans wants to develop as broad a relationship with
Central America as possible," James said. "Louisiana sees its future in this
new relationship with Central America. Our relationship with Central
America, helped build our economy 100 years ago. We are once again looking
at the region as part of our future."
'A Todo Dar' Dance Team Investigated
 Porto Seguro |
A five-member Brazilian dance troupe featured on the enormously popular
Costa Rican entertainment television program "A Todo Dar" is reportedly
under investigation for having false immigration stamps in their passports,
according to a judicial investigative police source.
The two women and three men in the dance group called Porto Seguro were
reportedly detained by immigration police at the Nicaraguan border
Wednesday, when police noticed they had fake stamps in their passports. They
were later released, but are being investigated by the Prosecutors' Office.
The high-energy dance group has been featured on A Todo Dar for the last
three months, and reportedly has already run into trouble with authorities
for giving private shows without work permits.
A Todo Dar airs Monday through Friday from 6 -8 p.m. on Channel 6 and is
syndicated in other countries in Latin America. The show, a combination of
game-show elements, dancing, musical performances and in-your-face product
advertisement, is the most watched program in Costa Rica, and is responsible
for several spin-offs on other networks.
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