The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – Costa Rica will work on the modernization of its border crossings and boost renewable energy in 2015. To accomplish this, the country has requested $302.9 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), reported an official source.
Today the Costa Rican Ministry of Finance and IDB said in a joint press release that, after reviewing the progress of all programs currently running, they’ve defined the priorities they want to achieve in 2015.
“In close coordination with the Bank, after reviewing the progress of all running programs, we established the most important projects for 2015, which we defined in accordance with the priorities established by the government in the National Development Plan,” said Minister of Finance, Helio Fallas.
The Costa Rica government confirmed that this year they will prioritize the modernization of the border crossings for the amount of $100 million, which was approved by IDB.
This initiative seeks to strengthen trade competitiveness by supporting the revitalization of the Peñas Blancas and Tabillas border crossings with Nicaragua and for Paso Canoas and Sixaola, on the border with Panama.
Costa Rica also asked the IDB for a credit line of $200 million to be allocated for renewable energy, transmission and distribution projects.
The money will contribute to the mitigation of the impacts of climate change, sustainable economic growth and promoting regional integration through the Central Regional Electricity Market (MER).
As for technical cooperation, both sides agreed to an amount of $2.9 million for social and fiscal growth.
“We hope to support improved project delivery areas through strategic technical cooperation grants,” commented Helio in the bulletin.
In addition, Costa Rica and the IDB will work together in the formulation of the Country Strategy 2015-2018, which includes issues such as macroeconomic stability, public finances, competitiveness, infrastructure and poverty reduction. (ACAN-EFE)
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa Rica