QCOSTARICA — The Federated College of Engineers and Architects – Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos (CFIA) – reported that the delay of the Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA) – water and sewer utility – in granting permits continues to affect construction projects.
According to them, there are requests for water availability that can take up to two years to be resolved by the AyA.
“If someone wants to build a building with 50 apartments where there used to be one, two or say three houses, they have to make the request and wait for the AyA to approve the availability of the water resource to provide service,” explained Guillermo Carazo, director of the CFIA.
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He added that the problem is that a timely response is not received, since on several occasions they indicated that the permit cannot be granted until 2027.
“Another case is the area between Tres Ríos, Curridabat, Montes de Oca and the east of San José, where it is likely that the letter says that there is no availability, the problem is not only with the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), it is in all regions of the country,” he said.
Carazo explained that a large number of works, such as the Orosi supply project for the GAM, have delays of up to 10 years due to this cause, which forces the sector to make emergency plans to compensate for it and causes an increase in rationing in the summer.
Buildings stagnate
Carazo also emphasized CFIA’s concern about the delay generated by infrastructure projects, since they are paralyzed even before starting due to the long wait after submitting the request for proof of service to the AyA.
“It is a problem for the development of new projects, because without that letter, construction permits cannot be processed. Projects die from the start,” he said.
Verónica Alfaro, director of the Real Estate Development Council (CODI), pointed out that the problem escalated to affect families with small properties that find it difficult to obtain the service.
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“We understand that management must be guided by principles of sustainability, but it is evident that the lack of adequate infrastructure and the accumulated delays in its construction have generated a serious bottleneck that impacts the general population,” Alfaro said.
Luis Diego Vargas, deputy of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), highlighted that, in the past, the institution granted 12 months for developers to advance in their procedures; now, that period has been extended to 24 or even 36 months.
“This does not resolve the issue, it simply postpones the solution. The responsibility is passed on to the developer or the community, who end up investing in pipes, wells and other requirements that should be managed by the institution,” she said.
Carolina Delgado, legislator of the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), agreed that three decades of delay in a public service institution, especially a fundamental right such as access to this vital liquid, represents a risk for Costa Ricans.
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“The economic development of the country is slowed down, because investment in productive, tourist and industrial projects that depend on the availability of water to survive is hindered,” she said.
They recognize failure
At the AyA, they recognize a lack of water management during the last 30 years in the face of the reproach of the CFIA for the delay in the approval of requests to endorse the obtaining of the resource in construction.
The AyA responds that the delays are due to the fact that, until the current administration, “the commitment was made to close the investment gap in water infrastructure of three decades due to the lack of attention of previous governments.”
It argued that instead the water capacity was expanded through public-private alliances: “this will allow increasing the availability of water in the systems and developing new infrastructure with legal security and in less time.”
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