Former President Rodrigo Chaves will coordinate the government team assigned to push forward the planned Marina and Cruise Terminal of Limón, moving the nearly $900 million project from political approval into the harder stage of execution. President Laura Fernández announced the assignment Thursday in Limón, where she signed the new law allowing Japdeva, the Caribbean port authority, to form strategic alliances for major infrastructure projects.
The signing marked the latest step after Costa Rica formally approved the Limón marina and cruise terminal law. The law followed a Legislative Assembly vote last week that gave the project its main political green light, clearing the way for Japdeva to seek public, private or foreign partners for large infrastructure projects.
The new development is Chaves’ role. Fernández said the former president, now serving as minister of the Presidency, will coordinate an interagency team that includes MOPT, the Costa Rican Tourism Board, Japdeva, Minae, the Finance Ministry and the Presidency. Fernández said the team will be responsible for moving the project forward and keeping pressure on the agencies involved. The administration is framing the marina not as a stand-alone tourism project, but as part of a broader development plan for Limón.
That is the key test now. The law gives Japdeva broader authority to seek partners and investment. But the government still has to turn that authority into a workable plan, including technical studies, financing, partner selection, environmental review, design and oversight.
The proposed project would include a marina and cruise terminal capable of receiving two cruise ships at the same time. Officials have said the broader development could include hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses near Puerto Limón. For Limón, the promise is large. Supporters say the project could bring investment, jobs and a stronger tourism base to a province that has long complained of being left behind while Costa Rica’s Pacific coast received most major tourism development.
The government has also tied the project to public safety. Limón has been hit hard by drug trafficking, port-related crime and some of the country’s highest homicide rates. Chaves and Fernández have argued that economic development is part of the answer, giving the province more legal jobs and reducing the conditions that organized crime exploits.
Still, the project faces the same question that has followed it for years: when will anything actually be built? No construction date has been announced. No private partner has been named. The government has not yet explained the full financing structure for a project of this size.
The oversight issue is also likely to remain sensitive. Chaves has repeatedly criticized the Comptroller General’s Office over public works controls, while watchdog officials have argued that legal and financial safeguards are necessary to protect public assets. Under the new law, strategic alliances involving Japdeva remain subject to public oversight. Private partners must also pay a fee of at least 1.5% of gross income to help finance Japdeva’s supervision of the projects.
For now, the marina has cleared the political stage. The Assembly approved the law, Fernández signed it in Limón, and Chaves has been placed in charge of coordinating the next steps. The harder part begins now: finding the partners, money and permits needed to turn one of Costa Rica’s most ambitious Caribbean tourism promises into a real construction project.
