Contacts: In Washington: Alejandro Cedeño (202) 473-3477 acedeno@worldbank.org Cathy Russell (202) 458-8124 crussell@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, January 9, 2008 -- The World Bank Board of Executive Directors yesterday approved a loan for Costa Rica in the amount of US$72.5 million to finance the revitalization of the city of Limon and to support the modernization of its port. “With its historic center and unique Caribbean identity, Limon has great potential for tourism development but this is not being realized due to limitations in its urban planning and management capacity,” said Laura Frigenti, World Bank Director for Central America. “This loan will help the city of Limon to diversify its economy and to develop both tourism and trade in a sustainable manner, while creating a more livable environment for the city’s poorest inhabitants.” While Costa Rica as a whole has an impressive development record, the Atlantic region is lagging behind, with one in five of its inhabitants living in poverty. The Atlantic port-city of Limon is one of the country’s most decayed cities and suffers from high unemployment and crime rates. The port of Limon, the busiest port in Central America after Panama, is critical to the competitiveness of Costa Rica’s trade, but has become a major bottleneck to the country’s growth due to lack of reform and inefficiency. The congestion in the port affects the city as heavy freight traffic has to pass through the city center to get to the Limon terminal. The City-Port of Limon Project will help to address these challenges through support for actions in four key areas: - Urban and cultural revitalization: Investments focused on rescuing Limon’s unique cultural identity, while improving the city’s urban environment (sewerage, drainage, paving of streets) and attractiveness to visitors.
- Local economic development: Activities to generate new sources of employment and income, seizing the opportunities presented by growing cruise tourism and the historical and cultural richness of Limon.
- Local governance and city-port strategic planning: Technical assistance for the Municipality of Limon to improve its capacity to deliver quality services and to take an active role in the city’s development.
- Support for improving the port environment: Actions to improve transport access to the Limon and Moín port terminals and technical assistance to the Transport Ministry to support the concessions process and transport system for Moín and Limon.
“The City-Port of Limon Project is part of the Government of Costa Rica’s regional development strategy for the Province of Limon, which also aims to address poverty and social problems,” said Emmanuel James, World Bank task manager for the project. “It has been designed to help develop the capacity of local and central governments to address the needs of lagging regions.” This US$72.5 million fixed-spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is payable in 15 years, including 5 years of grace. - ###- - For more information on the City-Port of Limon Project, please visit: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=295413&menuPK=295447&Projectid=P085539 For more information on the World Bank’s work in Costa Rica, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/costarica |
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