Skip to main content

Costa Rica's growing road problem

Costa Rica's road network requires further investments to prevent it from worsening. According to data from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) some US$200 million/month is required to tackle the issue.
February 10, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Costa Rica's road network requires further investments to prevent it from worsening. According to data from the 2536 Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) some US$200 million/month is required to tackle the issue. This sum is equivalent to 79% of the National Roads Council's (2538 Conavi) annual budget for 2011, which stands at nearly $256 million. The MOPT has acknowledged that such investments would improve the country's competitive edge. At present, the Conavi only spends some $110 million in repairing roads/year. MOPT says that at present a mere 1.5% of the country's gross domestic product (GPD) is spent on transport, although the MOPT hopes this figure will increase to 2.5% until 2035.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • US road safety record
    April 26, 2012
    The latest official statistics from the US on road accidents show that fatality levels on the nation's roads have dropped to the lowest figures seen for more than six decades. The information was released by US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, revealing that highway deaths fell to 32,885 for 2010, the lowest level since 1949.
  • Series of road projects due for Peru
    July 12, 2012
    A major road building programme is expected in Peru in due course. The country’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) in Peru is planning 12 road concessions that will extend some 4,740km. These concessions will be worth in excess of US$3 billion in the period up to 2016. Peru’s Government wants to continue progress made so far in improving connectivity in the country and also with its neighbours.
  • Changing policy for Europe’s road funding?
    August 27, 2013
    The 2011 EC White Paper on Transport acknowledges that transport is the backbone of Europe’s economy, directly employing 10 million people and accounting for approximately 5% of EU GDP. In addition, it recognises that ‘infrastructure shapes mobility’ and that ‘curbing mobility is not an option’. Given the importance policymakers place on the ability to move people and goods seamlessly across Europe, it becomes rather hard to explain why they have neglected for so long the main ‘vehicle’ for mobility acro
  • Highways: environmental problem or environmental enhancement?
    March 21, 2016
    Highways need not be a blight on the countryside that many people, urban planners included, believe they will always be. By Bram Miller, director, and Martin Broderick, environmental consultant, at Ramboll Environ While the world’s highway networks bring undoubted economic and social benefits, they are generally perceived to lead to negative environmental impacts. Some may consider this an unfair reputation, but it is difficult to argue that in the majority of cases both the construction and operation of