Costa Rica has upheld approval for a proposed public dock in Puerto Viejo, rejecting an attempt to cancel the project over concerns about nearby coral, marine life and the studies used to evaluate the construction. The decision does not clear the way for construction to begin immediately. The project still needs additional permits and licenses, and opponents filed a new appeal on August 27 asking officials to reconsider the environmental approval.
The National Environmental Technical Secretariat (Setena), voted on August 20 to keep the approval issued in October 2024. Six members supported the decision, none opposed it and one member was absent. The project, backed by the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation and the Caribbean port authority Japdeva, would build a dock near the center of Puerto Viejo in the southern Caribbean district of Talamanca.
Plans call for a filled approach area, a pedestrian walkway raised on supports and a fixed concrete dock. The facility would serve small coastal boats, artisanal fishermen and tourism operations. Project documents have also mentioned receiving passengers brought ashore from cruise ships anchored farther out at sea.
Environmental groups and some community members have opposed the project, arguing that construction and increased boat traffic could damage coral, seagrass and other marine life. Their concerns focus in part on a nearby reef known as El Chino. Setena said an inspection conducted by marine specialists in October 2019 did not find coral colonies directly where the dock would be built. The agency said the main coral barrier, including El Chino, sits outside the construction footprint.
Officials acknowledged that seagrass grows nearby and said the project would have to follow measures intended to reduce indirect damage during construction. Setena also concluded that the project did not require more detailed computer studies of currents, tides and waves. According to the agency, those studies are not mandatory for a project of this size and type.
The decision rejected a request filed in March seeking to cancel the environmental approval. That challenge argued that the original review lacked adequate biological and ocean studies and did not fully examine the presence of coral or protected marine species. Setena said the documents already in the file provided enough technical support for its decision. However, the new appeal questions whether some of that information was actually available when the project received approval in 2024.
One disputed report covers the marine inspection conducted in 2019. The appeal argues that the report was not formally added to the project file until April 2026, well after Setena issued the original approval. The appeal also questions Setena’s use of two technical opinions produced in 2026. Opponents argue that documents prepared after the approval cannot be used to explain or justify what officials decided two years earlier.
Another disagreement involves the project’s size. Documents used for the environmental approval listed a construction footprint of 820 square meters, or approximately 8,826 square feet. A later response from the developer referred to 1,040 square meters, or roughly 11,195 square feet.
That is a difference of nearly 27%. The appeal argues that changes greater than 20% may require additional authorization from Setena and asks the agency to determine which measurement is correct. The parties also disagree over what lies beneath part of the proposed dock. Setena said the steel supports would rest on a sedimentary rock known as shale.
The appeal points to wording in an earlier soil study that described the layer as coral reef and argues that the environmental review did not establish whether it contains living coral, dead coral or both. Setena’s environmental approval remains valid while the latest challenge is considered. However, the agency emphasized that its decision alone does not give the developers permission to begin building.
The project has faced a separate financial obstacle. The Comptroller General previously rejected ₡674.2 million, approximately $1.49 million, included in Japdeva’s 2026 budget for the dock because agreements defining the responsibilities of Japdeva, the Public Works Ministry and the Municipality of Talamanca had not been provided.
The new appeal leaves the future of the dock unsettled as supporters promote it as useful infrastructure for fishing and tourism while opponents seek a more detailed review of its possible effects on Puerto Viejo’s coastal ecosystem.
