Plans for Internation Airport in the South
President Pacheco assures that France will donate the plans

By: Freddy Parrales

Paso Canoas. The president, Abel Pacheco, reported yesterday that the Government would quickly begin the construction of a new international airport in the southern zone of the country. They have already selected a piece of land in Finca 18 of Palmar Sur, Osa, Puntarenas.

Pacheco made the announcement yesterday in this frontier zone, where he finalized the plans after taking a two-day tour of the area.

"We saw the property where we are going to build (the airport) and we are in negotiations with the owners of the property to exchange this property with other property that is owned by the government, since we do not have money to purchase the property outright", declared the politician.

Besides, it has been confirmed that the administration has already negotiated with the government of France concerning the donation of the construction plans for the new terminal.

Neither Pacheco nor the authorities of the Department of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) that accompanied him could ascertain the cost of this project.

Nevertheless, the President assured that the financing was available to begin construction.
"I have confidence that I will find the money needed to begin construction of the southern international airport, therefore we will move ahead", he indicated.

To summarize the plan, this will become the fifth international airport in the country. It will rank amongst the other international airports: Juan Santamaria, Tobias Bolanos, as well as those in Liberia and Limon.

As was explained by the vice minister of Public Works, Maria Lorraine Lopez, in recent months the engineers of the Civil Aviation Agency have been working on identifying an adequate place to build the landing strip, according to the requirements of wide body airships.

Lopez said that Finca 18 was selected because it met the necessary requirements of location, altitude and wind characteristics needed for large airplanes.

The President insisted that the building of this project would permit the country to take advantage of the great potential for development in this zone in such diverse fields as tourism, agriculture, and other industries.

In two days, Pacheco inaugurated three operations: Equipos Basicos de Atencion Integral en Salud (EBAIS) in Villa Ligia, General Viejo y Villa Briceno in Perez Zeledon, as well as the emergency room at the hospital in Golfito.

Yesterday, the leader also inspected the damages caused by recent earthquakes in Ciudad Nelly, as well as advancements in construction of a new sewer system in the frontier zone of Paso Canoas, and he inaugurated the building of Correos local.

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