A series of public infrastructure projects will promote the socio-economic, cultural, environmental and artistic development of three cantons in the Costa Rican province of Heredia, announced this past week the executive president of the Rural Development Institute (Inder), Harys Regidor Barboza.
The initiatives – with an investment of more than ₡ 2,500 million – will be developed thanks to the joint efforts of the Rural Development Institute (Inder), the municipalities of Barva, Heredia and Santa Bárbara and the National System of Conversation Areas (SINAC).
The projects include -among others- interventions on roads in sectors such as San José de la Montaña in Barva and La Legua in Vara Blanca de Heredia, the equipping of the House of Culture and Art of Santa Bárbara, as well as improvements to services from the Braulio Carrillo National Park, Barva Volcano sector.
The initiatives are part of a strategy for the integration of the local and regional economy, the attraction of tourism and economic resources, as well as the productive and business chains, taking advantage of the natural, social and cultural resources of the region.
In detail:
With the Municipality of Barva, the improvement of the quality of life of the inhabitants of San José de la Montaña is promoted, which includes towns such as Sacramento, Porrosatí, Ángeles de Paso Llano and Paso Llano, whose inhabitants are dedicated to dairy farming and agriculture.
Here the construction of ditches and placement of a structural package of the pavement will be carried out on Sacramento Street, to improve commercial exchange and production output. The project has a cost of ₡ 1,254 million. Inder will contribute ₡ 790 million and the local government will make the remaining contribution.
With SINAC
Through an initiative led by the SINAC of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), INDER will provide resources to improve the internal services of the Braulio Carrillo National Park, Barva Volcano Sector, in San José de la Montaña de Barva de Heredia.
The objective is to provide the park with the basic tourist infrastructure that contributes to sustainability and the involvement of stakeholders in the management of natural resources. The benefited population is related to national and international visitors, who in their high season register up to 41 thousand people per year.
The positively impacted communities will be Sacramento, Birrí, Porrosatí and Paso Llano.
In this project, Inder will contribute ₵ 371 million and together with contributions from SINAC, the Tropical Science Center and other entities, a total investment of ₵ 1,168 million is contemplated.
With the Municipality of Heredia, it seeks to reactivate the local economy by rehabilitating the ring road and drainage systems along 13.29 kilometers of the “La Legua” road in San Rafael de Vara Blanca.
With the qualification of the road, a strategy for the integration of the local and regional economy will be promoted, through productive and business linkages; the natural, social and cultural resources of the region will be used, as well as promoting a new destination for the attraction of tourism and economic resources.
This route will become an alternate road for routes 126, 140, 120 and 04 and 32, with tourist and productive potential, due to its proximity to the Braulio Carrillo National Parks, Barva Volcano, Poás Volcano and industrial and agro-industrial development poles.
The beneficiaries will be about 700 people from Vara Blanca and indirectly about 1,550 people, for a total of 30 square kilometers of communities such as San Rafael de Vara Blanca, Las Tres Marías, San Miguel and alternate routes to Cariblanco, Río Cuarto and Chinchona. A first stage of 8 kilometers is contemplated with an investment of ₡ 1,621.6 million, of which Inder will contribute ₡ 1,437 million and the Municipality of Heredia another ₡ 184.6 million.
Artistic empowerment
With the Municipality of Santa Bárbara, Inder will provide the equipment for the House of Culture and Art. The objective is to have a space that allows people from nearby communities to access culture, art and as well as have new opportunities to develop, learn and perform in various fields. It seeks to strengthen artistic empowerment, both locally and at the territorial level, through workshops, fairs, courses, staging, classes, training and updates, among others.
The Casa de la Cultura y el Arte project is linked to the Santa Bárbara Municipal School of Music, with more than 300 students. Construction is in process and equipment is required, for which Inder is being requested a contribution of ₡ 100 million in different equipment and musical instruments and personal property necessary attached to the service.
All these projects are built with the approval of the Steering Committee of the Barva-Santa Bárbara-San Isidro-San Rafael-Santo Domingo-Vara Blanca Territorial Council for Rural Development, also known as “Heredia Rural”.
