This past week, the Government of the Republic presented the $800 million electric train project, which will be financed through debt with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the European Investment Bank.
The CABEI will contribute $550 million, of which $178 million will be co-financed by the Green Climate Fund, while the European Investment Bank will contribute $250 million. Additionally, a $21 million donation from the Green Climate Fund is included.
For implementation, both loans must be approved by the Legislative Assembly, which is why the initiatives were presented to Congress. The initiative reaches the highest branch of the Republic eight months before the deputies and the government leave office, and in the midst of a political campaign that will require extended vacations for legislators.
Álvaro Bermúdez, executive president of the Costa Rican Railway Institute (Incofer), indicated that the project is called “Tibi” as a living tribute to several indigenous communities.
“We set out to optimize this project with a clear vision: to provide Costa Ricans with a solid proposal, aligned with the real needs of the population and without unnecessary debt for the country,” he declared.
In detail:
The train will travel 51 kilometers on double track: one from Paraíso Cartago to San José and another from San José to downtown Alajuela. Efraím Zeledón, Minister of Public Works and Transportation, explained that it will have 30 stations, with two new terminals, one in Paraíso and one in downtown Alajuela.
He also assured that it will operate seven days a week with a frequency of every 10 minutes. The project includes the acquisition of 28 new electric units. More than 100,000 passengers are projected to use the service daily.
A Serious Proposal
President Rodrigo Chaves said that there is now a “serious and responsible proposal” for Costa Rica to have an electric train. In 2020, the government of Carlos Alvarado presented its electric train proposal, costing $1.55 billion, through a $550 million loan and a $1 billion foreign investment counterpart through a concession.
The train covered 84 kilometers with 46 stations along the route. “And it is comprised of five lines delimited by the Incofer right-of-way. Lines 1 (Paraíso-Atlántico), 2 (Atlántico-Alajuela), and 3 (Atlántico-Ciruelas) will operate independently, while lines 4 (Alajuela-Ciruelas) and 5 (Ciruelas-El Coyol) are proposed as extensions of lines 2 and 3, respectively,” the government stated in May 2020.
However, Chaves criticized this Friday that, had the proposal been implemented, “it would have caused enormous damage to public finances.” He called it a “mammoth project” that lacked even technical studies.
Five lanes
“We went from an impossible dream of five lanes that demand couldn’t finance and a perennial deficit that all Costa Ricans would have had to pay. We moved to two well-thought-out lanes between Alajuela and Paraíso, all based on hard demand data with fair conditions and support from international banks that not only believe in the country, but also review the numbers and understand financial projections,” the president argued.
According to data released by Incofer, it is estimated that the operation of this important national project will achieve a reduction of 6.54 million tCO2 of greenhouse gas emissions.
– Advertisement –
Source link
TCRN STAFF
