Costa Rica announces infrastructure works in effort to boost economy

Costa Rica announced Friday a millionaire investment in airport infrastructure as a mechanism to boost the economy and generate jobs.

The government, in partnership with the private sector, will invest up to $160 million in 2020 at the four international airports and eight local airfields throughout the country.

“This investment generates employment and energizes other sectors, especially tourism,” said President Carlos Alvarado, who added that with better air terminals, tourists will have the option to reach remote destinations in a short time.

He also stressed that they offer the possibility that residents of remote areas can travel by air in cases of emergency.

Más inversión, más turismo, más empleo. Hoy junto con el Consejo Técnico de Aviación Civil y la Dirección General de Aviación Civil presentamos los proyectos de infraestructura aeroportuaria que se estarán llevando a cabo durante este y el próximo año. pic.twitter.com/JhTMm2MKZf

— Carlos Alvarado Quesada (@CarlosAlvQ) August 17, 2019

“We are going to boost the economy with airport development works,” said Guillermo Hoppe, General Director of Civil Aviation, by presenting investments in the country’s main airport, near the capital.

The announcement comes at a time when the Central Bank reduced economic growth projections for this year, from 3.2% to 2.2%, while unemployment reached 11.9% in the second quarter of 2019.

Tourism Minister María Amalia Revelo said that this sector currently contributes between 9% and 10% of Costa Rica’s GDP, which justifies the need for investments.

She explained that foreign tourists who arrive in the Central American country visit an average of five destinations, which allows extending the benefit of tourist income throughout the territory.

“Having a better air infrastructure allows us to consolidate this model in which the benefit of tourism extends throughout the country,” Revelo said.

Last year, the small Central American country received about 3 million foreign tourists.