Flamingo Marina Project Finally Anchors Developer

Municipal authorities in Santa Cruz, in the northwestern Guanacaste province, have chosen a concessionaire for the Flamingo Marina revamp, the firm Desarrollos de Marinas Matapalo Demm S.A., ending a drawn-out process to bring the boats back to Flamingo, on the northern Pacific coast.

Marinas Matapalo Demm has two years to rebuild Flamingo’s PotreroBay, equipping it with 420 slips, a hotel and shopping center, among other things, the daily La Nación reported.

Santa Cruz Town Council reached the decision Saturday afternoon during a special assembly meeting.

“A very important decision has been made for the canton, which will contribute to the development of the area,” Santa Cruz Mayor Jorge Chavarría told reporters.

Marinas Matapalo Demm pledged to spend $91 million on Flamingo, well over the $78.8 million offered by competing bidder Willily Ocean View S.A.

Over a year has passed since the municipality announced it would hold a public tender to revamp the marina (TT, Feb. 2).

This came after a December 2003 ruling by the Environmental Tribunal to shut it down amid complaints of pollution. The authorities, however, did not close the marina until June 2004.