Aug

2

Marina Development Shelved by Owners

August 2, 2008 | Tags: Economic Development | 19 Comments

Site of Playa Negra Marina, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica
Site of the proposed marina. Graphic courtesy of La Nacion

Grupo Caribeño Internacional S. A. has put their plans to build a marina in Puerto Viejo on hold.

The news comes via a letter that the company’s president, Jan Kalina, wrote on July 31st to CIMAT, a government body whose regulatory approval would’ve been required for the project to go forward.

The project would have built a 100 berth marina (reduced from the original plan for more than 400 berths) and accompanying development totaling some $40 million US.

The project had been strongly opposed by many groups in the area which called for a more sustainable development model for the community and were concerned about the damage to the coral reef which recent studies had shown that while less than 9% of the reef remained alive, there were possibilities of regenerating the reef.

In his letter to CIMAT, Kalina complained that the opposition was “a minority, not the [opinion of] the people of Puerto Viejo”.

The company asked that the project be shelved but left open the possibility of restarting the development in the future “if there are better opportunities”.

Source: La Nacion: Plan de marina en Puerto Viejo se archiva.