Government to carry out renovation of Cartago highway

The government will assume responsibility of repairing the Florencio del Castillo Highway that connects San José with the province of Cartago.

Public Works and Transport Minister Pedro Castro said there will be no public bidding on the project, which will be carried out with the direct supervision of the National Roadway Council. The council has the authority to contract some services if needed.

Funds for the project come from part of a loan requested from the Inter-American Development Bank, known as PIV II, which includes renovation of the road and construction of two new intersections on the route.

Castro said the PIV II loan must be approved by both the IDB board and Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly.

If everything goes as planned, the loan could be approved in coming months, the minister said.

The government has been harshly criticized for a public bid that granted OAS, a Brazilian company, a $524 million highway modernization contract that sparked several public demonstrations and ended with the cancellation of the contract by President Laura Chinchilla last month.