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Stand-up Comedy
Winners of 2009 contest, June 15, 7 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center.

Library Bus Tour
Bibliobús brings books, handicraft activities, puppets, storytelling, games and activities to communities, June 15-16, Filadelfia, Guanacaste; June 17-18, Liberia, Guanacaste; June 25, Las Colonias, Turrialba, 2221-2479.

Alejandro Filio in Concert
Trova, pop, June 15, 8 p.m., Melico Salazar Theater, 2542-1410.

Early Saturday morning, thick orange barriers with blinking yellow lights were placed across the Caldera Highway, closing an 11-kilometer stretch between Atenas and Orotina of the five-month-old highway. The closure, which blocks kilometers 37 through 48 of the 77-kilometer road between San José and the Pacific port of Caldera, comes in response to heightened scrutiny over insecure conditions on the road as heavy rain resulted in several mudslides during the past few weeks. Since its opening on Jan. 27, mudslides and falling rocks have been responsible for several injuries and one death on the highway.

Last week, calls for a temporary closure of the highway heated up when a report by the Costa Rican Association of Engineers and Architects stated that “urgent intervention” was needed to improve the road. The report also mentioned that “It was only a question of time before a mass of materials drops onto the highway (near Atenas)” (TT June 11, 2010). President Laura Chinchilla responded to the report by declaring that repairs to the highway “should be considered.”

On Friday afternoon, pressure to close the highway forced Autopistas del Sol, the private firm that built much of the road and is responsible for its operation, to announce the temporary closure.

“Autopistas del Sol demonstrated its willingness to close certain stretches of the road when the users were faced with situations of risk,” the company said in a statement. “At this time, according to our technical, financial and legal information, it is not opportune to close; however, we are going to proceed with the agreement as instructed.”

In the interim, drivers will be re-routed through the Monte de Aguacate highway, the old passage between Orotina and Atenas. This windy, winding, narrow road was for much of the country's history the primary route to the Pacific from the Central Valley. The statement released by Autopistas del Sol said that they hoped the roadway would be fixed in the “short term”.

For more on the history and troubled first months of the Caldera Highway, see the June 19 print or digital edition of The Tico Times.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed a proclamation that will reinstate preferential treatment for Costa Rican sugar, the White House said Monday. Its quota for the U.S. market was suspended because of Costa Rica's foot-dragging in enacting reforms to implement a free-trade deal with the U.S., according to the statement.

Starting Tuesday, Costa Rica can export 13,880 metric tons of tariff-free sugar and sugar-containing goods a year to the U.S.

The block had gone into effect in January, causing an estimated $1 million in lost revenue for the country's sugar sector, according to Edgar Herrera, executive director of the national sugar cane association, LAICA.

Herrera said LAICA represents the interests of more than 12,000 producers and 15 mills, and that sugar is a $200 million industry here.

Costa Rica joined the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with United States (CAFTA) in January 2009, after pushing through a dozen liberalizing reforms needed to join the trade club. But one controversial bill to toughen copyright reforms lingered, prompting the U.S. to block a key deal on sugar until Costa Rican legislators approved the law.

The lawmakers passed the reforms in April.

On Monday, sugar producers and trade officials celebrated their regained preferential treatment.

“We're very satisfied with this result, which allows Costa Rica to sell 13,880 metric tons of sugar to the United States market, taking advantage of the benefits of the agreement,” said Anabel González, Costa Rica's foreign trade minister.

As the economy recovers, more multinational companies are looking to invest in Costa Rica.

The latest was medical device manufacturing company Nitinol Devices & Components (NDC), whose decision to begin operations in the country was announced this week. Gabriela Llobet, the director general of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), estimated that approximately six more companies will break ground for or inaugurate new operations in the upcoming months.

NDC manufactures medical guide wires used for non-invasive surgery. The company is negotiating to set up a facility in one of San José's free trade zones, which allow businesses to import materials and export goods without barriers such as quotas or tariffs (TT, Jan. 29).

Llobet said the Fremont, Calif.-based NDC was a good fit for the country because of Costa Rica's close to its primary market, the United States. In addition, other medical device manufacturers are already having success in Costa Rica.

“It's a strategic location,” Llobet said. “Just for the fact of already having all these companies operating here in this sector – it's a great indication for them that they can find the required human capital to not only to get established here, but continue growing (pursuant to) a long term strategy in Costa Rica.”

NDC will invest $3.5 million in operations in the country, and plans to hire 30 employees by the end of the year. The long-term goal is to employ 200 people, Llobet said.

She added that CINDE hopes to help bring in 29 multinational businesses this year. She said that an early estimate is that around 5,000 jobs could be created in the services, medical devices and advanced manufacturing sectors. 21 new operations moved to Costa Rica in 2009.

The Central Bank estimates $1.3 billion of foreign direct investment for this year, while two sectors in particular appear to be leading Costa Rica's foreign investment landscape.

“We're going to continue to see some medical device manufacturing companies and (companies) in the area of services as well,” Llobet said. “(Also) perhaps, in other areas as well. But I would pinpoint these two specific sectors as ones in which we have seen continuous growth in the past. And I believe we'll see the same in 2010.”