The proposed canal would connect ports in Parismina in the Caribbean province of Limón and La Cruz in Guanacaste through 315 kilometers (196 miles) of railway and an 8-lane road.
A new container terminal under construction in Costa Rica's Caribbean port of Moín is more than one-quarter of the way finished, the government said Friday.
Panama's free trade zone -- the biggest in Latin America -- is in crisis in large part because of economic woes sapping major export customers Venezuela and Colombia, Commerce Minister Augusto Arosemena said Wednesday.
The total value of Costa Rican export goods fell by 15 percent last year, though most of that decline is attributed to the 2014 exit of chipmaker Intel.
Intel is recruiting professional and technical staff for its new research and development center in Costa Rica, which the company officially announced Tuesday in San José.
