QCOSTARICA — The expansion of Ruta 27 could threaten the “Parque de Agua” project that the Government and the pro-government legislator Pilar Cisneros want to carry out in the Lorne Ross environmental park in Santa Ana.
The mayor of Santa Ana, Juan José Vargas, declared that the projections for the expansion of said route go through the aforementioned environmental enclosure, which the area’s neighbors insist on becoming a conservation center.
“This is a matter that has already been determined by the National Concessions Council (CNC), which is the one that authorizes the expansion, but they have been negotiating for more or less 12 years to see if they are allowed to expand it and effectively, if Globalvia (operator of the Ruta 27) is authorized, it would go from four to six lanes, so part of the park would have to be taken,” said Vargas.
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Despite what the mayor said, the authorities of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) – Ministry of Public Works and Transport, claim to be unaware of the matter, according to Efraím Zeledón, Vice Minister of Infrastructure, because “that issue would be with the CNC”.
According to the CNC, the expansion should finish its negotiation and planning process next month, in order to deliver the number of lanes that will be expanded in each of the sections.
Disputed area
Legislator Cisneros, who has defended the construction of the project, specified that “one thing has no relation to the other. When they built the 27 they split the park in two, so, if they now take away another piece, that would not affect the water park, which only requires 5 or 6 hectares of land in total.”
In 1976, Lorne Ross donated the 53-hectare plot of land to preserve the natural and cultural heritage for the use and enjoyment of the inhabitants of Santa Ana.
Since 1993, the site was under the administration of Fundazoo, but now under the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE).
Cisneros is promoting the construction of the park, he said, replicating a similar one that exists in Peru.
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The Municipal Council of Santa Ana and a group of residents support a bill to create an “urban natural park” there, an initiative that was welcomed by the now independent deputy Kattia Cambronero.
The MINAE has spoken out against it, claiming that “they were not taken into account in the discussion.”
The objective is for the Santa Ana Conservation Center to become an urban natural park administered by the Municipality and not by the MINAE.
Ruta 27 expansion on hold
According to the head of the MOPT, Mauricio Batalla, the works to expand the Ruta 27 could be postponed, given the works were not a “priority” in view of the emergencies caused by the rains.
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“Right now I am not worried about that. Once we get out of this (the emergency caused by the rains) we will return to the negotiating table,” he said.
The Ruta 27 extends for 76.8 km and connects the city of San José with the Central Pacific at the Puerto Caldera, Puntarenas.
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