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$40 Million Marina Project Announced for Puerto Viejo
Posted by Editor | September 25, 2007 | Categories: Community News, Entertainment, Tourism | 14 Comments
 The barge at Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo which used to be a marina. The new project is planned for the same area. |
The consortium Grupo Caribeño Internacional S.A. has announced a huge marina project for Playa Negra with berths for 384 boats. The plan includes the building of 2 breakwaters, a commercial zone, administrative offices, a artisan’s marketplace and yacht repair and maintenance facilities. The investors behind the group plan to invest $40,000,000 in the project and say it will create about 2,000 jobs.
The consortium is made up of American and Costa Rican investors from the real estate and agriculture sectors. Their legal representative, Walter Coto, said this is their first marina project. He added that the first draft of the project proposal was presented two weeks ago to the Comisión Interinstitucional de Marinas y Atracaderos TurÃsticos (Cimat).
Coto said that the work will begin in 8 months if the permits are attained in line with their projections. The construction stage would last 2 years. The estimate of 2,000 new jobs includes the personnel necessary to operate the marina and the supporting commercial enterprises.
According to Coto, Puerto Viejo has the best natural conditions for a marina. “Studies by a consulting firm determined that the depth of the water and the marine currents in this zone are optimal.” Currently no marinas exist in the Costa Rican Caribbean.
Cimat also has another proposal under consideration for construction of a marina in MoÃn, near the existing cruise ship terminal in Limon.
Coto stated that the objective of the business would be to develop a project with the least possible environmental impact. “We want a construction which project the Caribbean identiy, that reflects the culture, the form of life and the feeling of the residents of this area.”
Rugeli Morales, mayor of Talamanca, noted that 88% of the Canton of Talamanca is a protected zone. “We don’t want a development which wouldn’t be harmonious with the natural environment.”
Other local residents were concerned with the type of tourism that the development would bring, specifically big money tourists and sportfishermen. Colin Brownlee, owner of the local hotel Banana Azul, worries that “the marina could attact a crowd which not as culturally diverse and tolerant as has historically been drawn to the area. Other Costa Rican resort towns seem to be predominantly American tourists. The visitors who come here often have environmentalist-leanings or are they’re lives are not primarily driven by financial gain. These visitors have contributed to this environment by volunteering their time with local organizations and helping make this area the leader in areas such as recycling, organic farming and other green initiatives.”
The plan needs the support of the municipality as well as Cimat. However the council has already declared the development “in the interest of the local public” on their meeting on the 29th of March. According to this agreement the municipality would be responsible for the construction and administration of the breakwaters.
Cimat noted that there are actually applications in process for 22 new marinas in Costa Rica. Half of these projects are in Guanacaste.
With reporting from La Nacion: Empresa pretende construir marina con 398 atracaderos en Puerto Viejo
This project could be the biggest change to ever come to Puerto Viejo. Residents and visitors alike are encouraged to make their voices heard on this issue. One way to do so is to leave a comment on this article.
Comments
14 Comments so far
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While I am all for the creation of jobs, I am not excited at all about giving up the beach that I walk on, swim in and enjoy daily. Playa Negra is a treasure and I feel sick to my stomach about loosing that magical, tranquil beach to big development. The big condo developments and fast food restaurants will follow close behind. I am sure plenty of people are thrilled about the potential increases in real estate values. I am not one of them. I would rather live out my life walking on that brown/black sand and see Puerto Viejo continue to be a village with dirt roads. Change is inevitable, but slow, thoughtful change that supports wildlife and fisheries values is what I support.
Well, of course I’m always concerned with ways in which we as a community can bring in ways to help locals find employment to help support themselves, their families and their own community.
I have not done any research myself to see what long-term effects other communities have seen from the construction of similar types of marina projects. But I’d still be very concerned about environmental issues number one. I’ve had boats before and have seen how much accidental waste I’ve experienced from my own small craft.
Beyond that, I have a hard time imagining there is an way to make this marina look aesthetically beautiful right smack dab in the middle of the town.
I don’t mean to be negative without knowing all the facts. I of course want to support proper and responsible development and look forward to reading and learning more about the plan. I only want to encourage all community members to take the time to get involved in any meetings and to think carefully about all the long-term effects of such a decision before moving forward with such a serious decision.
Please do not change the rustic and pristine beaches as has been done on the Pacific.Save Playa Negra for the people.
We all know progress is inevitable everywhere in the world but I truely hope this doesn’t negativley affect the tranquility of the caribbean side of Costa Rica. Yes property prices may increase because of the new marina & more jobs will be created but at what cost? Will it create further havoc on the caribbean’s coral reefs & wildlife or cause prices of everything to increase so much that locals will suffer? I hope not. We bought our retirement home in this area because it was so peacefull & carefree….I can only hope it remains as such. I for one would not want to see condos & fast food outlets littering Playa Negra…one of Costa Rica’s jewels…. or the caribbean coast in general. Only time will tell I guess. All we can do is hope for the best. Progress isn’t always good no matter how well intentioned!
Can anyone tell me how to contact Grupo Caribeño Internacional S.A.?
Thanks
I attempted to find any information on Grupo Caribeño Internacional S.A. and couldn’t find anything on them on the net. Does anyone know how to contact them or their attorney Walter Coto?
rumor has it that the owner of the hotel las palmas in punta uva is the lead in this. i have no idea if this is true.
This is tragic. I am a resident of Oregon and the Bay Area of California and I visit Puerto Viejo a couple of times per year and may even move there. The reason I visit so often is because it is pristine and untouched. I enjoy riding my bike down the bumpy unpaved roads, running along the trails that line the beach. I love that I am not surrounded by American Tourists. Bringing a marina to Puerto Viejo would DESTROY all the character of this small town. If one wants an over developed tourist hot spot, they should head to Mexico or even the Pacific side of Costa Rica. I feel that more damamge will be done to this area and the culture than can even be predicted if a marina is built. I believe that creating jobs is a wonderful idea but not at the cost of so many other things such as culture, the environment,and people’s happiness, among other things. There is a reason people call this small area of Costa Rica the end of the world, they come here to get away from the daily life of where ever they are from, let’s leave it that way.
This marina sounds way too big. It will ruin black beach and possibly the salsa brava. It is bigger than any marina anywhere I have ever heard of besides Miami. It seems the developers are probably iexperienced in building marinas and will probably make many mistakes. There may also be an increase in crime. This seems like an very badly thought out plan and could even be a flop. A small tasteful low impact marina maybe, but a 400 slip monstrosity sounds insane!!
[...] $40 Million Marina Project Announced for Puerto Viejo [...]
My wife and I bought a small parcel of land and built a house near Manzanillo 3 years ago and have spent quite a bit of time there since then. We love the unspoiled charm of the area, but it is obvious that the infrastructure, is already overused and overwhelmed, (in particular the roads and sewage/septic system), by the recent tourist influx.
What plans, if any, are proposed to deal with this issue, and even more importantly, are there funds available to upgrade these?
I agree that a 400 slip marina would be somewhat of a “monstrosity” and completely dominate the beach and seascape on that side of town, eliminating a huge portion of the beach from public use.
Tom Rucker
Our “new” roads” last no more than 2 weeks. If our municipality cannot properly build a road, how can we trust them to build and maintain a marina?
The most important issue dominating our area right now is our local government’s absolute lack of planned vision for tomorrow. We / they MUST sit down, decide on a vision for the next 5, 10, 15 and 30 years and stick to that vision with proper zoning, management and enforcement plans. Without these put into place, we are about to embark on a chaotic development frenzy much like the one that has completely ruined Jaco.
Unfortunately, it appears most people are only thinking about the $$$ benefits of uncontrolled development without taking the time to consider it’s true consequences into the future.
If our development is defined and controlled – land values will be worth much more in the future then if we let things run the way they are right now. We still have a fading opportunity to create / maintain and solidify a solid vision for an exemplary community that is the envy of the world in responsible development. Time is very quickly running out.
Let’s all slow down and consider our future – not just tomorrow’s benefits, but those AFTER tomorrow!!!
Oh what a tragedy !! We had traveled to Costa Rica many times over 20 years, before discovering the incredible Caribbean Coast and the un-spoiled Puerto Viejo area. Our trip to the “other Costa Rica” actually came about in an attempt to escape from the sad destruction we had witnessed taking its toll on the Pacific coast. We travel quite a bit and have always been drawn to the unique cultures that still exist on this wonderful planet, so finding a “Puerto Viejo” was akin to finding an almost extinct species of butterfly. And while visiting for 3 weeks last year we became very impressed by the work of ATEC and many of the local businesses. They seemed to have a true sense of how to maintain their indigenous environment and still incorporate the desire to have visitors come to appreciate it. A sustainable economic development plan! Now we must hear this terrible news! What possible rationale can there be in wanting to bring such a well-worn model of cultural(and ecological) decline to the beautiful pristine village of Puerto Viejo ??……It couldn’t possibly be greed, could it?
We too have purchases a lot in Punta Uva with the idea of building our retirement home. after seeing the destruction of the Pacific coast we decided to come to the Caribe Sur to see other options. we loved the people, the culture, but most of all we loved that its citizens have kept the zone mostly undeveloped. like previusly mention, slow down, plan for the future.