Construction of new Costa Rican Legislative Assembly facilities to start in February

Construction of a new complex that will house Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly will begin on Feb. 15, and the first stage will be inaugurated in the second quarter of 2016, according to Julio Cedeño, engineer of Novatecnia, the company that will manage the project, the weekly El Financiero reported this week.

New Assembly facilities will cost an estimated $76 million and would be finished in four stages spanning five years. The complex will have two towers and one main building, and will be located at the Assembly’s current location in downtown San José.

Plans for lawmakers’ main office building will be ready in early November. That building will cost $32 million and will be located in the western sector of the legislative complex, across from the south side of the Supreme Elections Tribunal.

Novatecnia will open public bidding for construction of that building and a second tower that will host administrative offices.

The fourth part of the project consists of renovating current facilities, some of which were declared of historical heritage by the state, and therefore must be preserved and restored.

“All public bids will be awarded between the second half of November and the first week of April,” Cedeño said.