Airport Operator Contract Returned to Comptroller

Here goes round two. The Technical Council of the Civil Aviation Authority (CETAC) has made requested clarifications to the government’s controversial contract addendum with Alterra Partners, operator of JuanSantamaríaInternationalAirport, and returned the document to the Comptroller General of the Republic for approval.

Two we eks ago, the comptroller rejected the recently renegotiated agreement, saying the addendum lacked sufficient explanation for changes to the original contract (TT, March 3).

Alterra and CETAC officials worked for a week making the necessary modifications to make the addendum more understandable – without changing the actual meaning – and turned it in to the comptroller March 10, the daily La Nación reported.

The comptroller has 45 days to approve or reject the addendum.

The addendum settles a multimillion-dollar contract dispute that began in March 2003 as a result of a report issued by the comptroller questioning Alterra’s plans for airport financing.

Construction was halted after international banks funding the airport’s renovation suspended the final $30 million of Alterra’s $120 million loan until the dispute was resolved (TT, March 28, 2003). Building resumed in early January (TT, Jan. 6).