Costa Rica and Panama will ask for $30 million from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration in order to construct a bridge over the Sixaola River dividing the country.
Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla and Panama President Ricardo Martinelli met on the Costa Rican side of Sixoala to discuss the plan, while inaugurating a temporary bridge that connects Costa Rica with Guabito, in Panama.
The new structure is “a sign of brotherhood and good fellowship between the two nations and their governments,” said Martinelli, according to the official presidential website.
Chinchilla and Martinelli, “signed a letter to the heads of the bank, to ask about the financial conditions for the construction of this bridge, which would cost 30 million (dollars),” the statement added.
The temporary structure opened Friday. The 244-meters-long Bailey bridge will have a lifespan of five years, which will help facilitate the flow of tourists between the countries.
Chinchilla said that her intention is to start construction on the new route before her term ends May 2014.
