• Construction Booming in Central Valley, Pacific Coast.
Construction grew by 20 percent in 2007, with 1.2 million more square meters popping up country –wide, according to the Costa Rican Construction Chamber.
Most constructions permits were taken out in the San Jose province (24 percent) last year, with housing construction accounting for 67 percent of growth.
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More: The Tico Times
• Fresh Del Monte Produce buys Costa Rica producers
Fresh Del Monte Produce buys Costa Rica banana, pineapple producers for $403 million.
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., which makes fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, said Monday it bought two Costa Rica fruit companies and an affiliated sales and marketing business for a total of $403 million.
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More: CNN
• Costa Rica Ranks 7th on the list of most attractive investments in Latin America
Costa Rica positioned it self as the 7th best place for investment amongst all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, indicated studies made by the economic commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL).
The $1,889 million achieved by Costa Rica last year, was only surpassed by Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru according to the report.
The study highlighted the relative importance of all the investment achieved by the Central American countries , if related with the internal gross product (IGP)
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More: La Nacion, May 8, 2008
• 21 Kilometers of asphalt. Garabito builds road to attract tourism.
Jacó, Garabito – With an investment of nearly 300 million colones, the municipality of Garabito, in alliance with entrepreneurs and the Development of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT), is building a highway that stretches through four communities and will benefit more than 2500 residents in the area.
The project in progress brings together the communities of Bajamar , Guacalillo, Cuarros and Lagunillas of Garabito.
The purpose is to convert the rural path into 21 Kilometers of asphalt, with two lanes going in both directions.
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More: La Nacion, May 2, 2008
• JACÓ EMERGING - CATCHING THE WAVE OF GROWTH ON THE PACIFIC COAST
Destined for greatness” is how Pat Hundley, President of Day Star Properties, describes Jaco’s recent facelift, as development continues to transform the once-sleepy surf town into a burgeoning tourist destination and up-and-coming commercial center. With development progressing full speed ahead, a new Jaco is emerging in its wake, with exciting changes for business, tourism, and the quality of life for residents and foreign visitors alike.
According to municipality statistics, 2007 has seen the completion of over 1000 condos in more than 15 properties, including the first three of Day Star’s seven beachfront condos and VistaMar, the first of four new VistaCR properties. Acqua Residences’ 8-floor beachfront property is near-completion and service-oriented Macaws Ocean Club has completed phase one of its two-phase project.
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More: Realty Guide Costa Rica
• BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE ARE NUMBER ONE
WE ALSO QUALIFY AS A SAFE COUNTRY FOR INVESTORS
Believe it or not, Costa Rica qualified as the most secure country in Latin America for businessmen and multinational enterprises, according to the last survey for Latin Security carried out by the FTI Consulting Ibero America, for the Latin Business Chronicle seminar held in Miami, USA.
The index measures the levels of danger in each country using a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is a country completely secure and 5 is the least. Only three countries in Latin America were marked with a 2: Costa Rica, Chile and Uruguay.
Joachim Bamrud, Director of the Latin Business Chronicle commented that even though Costa Rica was marked at the same level as Chile and Uruguay, the survey determined that Costa Rica is the most secured country.
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More: The Tico Times
• COUNTRY IN SECOND PLACE FOR TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS IN LATIN AMERICA
STUDY DISCLOSED YESTERDAY BY THE WORLD ECONOMY FORUM
Costa Rica occupies position number 44 among 130 nations evaluated.
The country is in disadvantage due to its insecurity, bad roads, airports, and ports infrastructure.
Costa Rica is the second most competitive tourist destiny in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a survey disclosed yesterday by the World Economy Forum, who evaluated 130 nations.
The country occupies position number 44 in the ranking. In Latin America it was overcome only by Barbados, placed 29th.
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More: La Nacion, March 6, 2008
• Costa Rica's Nosara Brims With Monkeys, Turtles, Soft Beaches
By Peter J. Brennan
March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Arriving at our rented beach house in Costa Rica, my family was startled by a giant grasshopper latched onto the screen door.
``It wants us to leave because we are in its territory,'' said one of my Costa Rican relatives. The grasshopper's turf was a hill overlooking Playa Guiones beach in Nosara, a sleepy hamlet on the Pacific coast of this thriving Central American nation.
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More: Bloomberg
• INA Can’t Keep Up With Demand For Workers
The Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA), or National Learning Institute, recognized this week its inability to train the number of technicians needed to meet demand in the business sector.
“It’s utopian to consider that in one or two years we are going to be able to cover these necessities,”
Carlos Sequeira, INA Executive President, told business leaders.
“As a country, development hit us and we weren’t prepared,” Mr Sequeira admitted.
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More: The Tico Times
• Hydroelectric Plant
The Costa Rican government declared Wednesday the construction of a new hydroelectric plant was of “national convenience and public interest”, and that it would bring the country closer to its goal of producing 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.
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More: The Tico Times
• Costa Rica: the promised land
Central America’s most biodiverse country is riding a wave of prosperity.
Situated at the gateway of the Americas, Costa Rica has made a name for itself as the tourism giant of Central America.
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More: Business Week - Special Advertising
• SAN JOSE-CALDERA HIGHWAY HITS THE OPEN ROAD
What for 30 years has been a punch line to jokes about government inefficiency finally got moving Thursday, as President Oscar Arias and other government officials inaugurated the construction of the San Jose Caldera highway.
When completed, the 77-kilometer stretches of road the trip from the capital to the Pacific coast to less than an hour s drive.
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More: The Tico Times
• 27 NEW TECH FIRMS TOUCHED DOWN IN 2007
The firm brought $421 million in investments and created 6,352 skilled jobs, expert says
One designs sophisticated breaking and transmission electronics. Another sterilizes medical equipment by bombarding it with an electron beam. Several others handle phone calls from calls from around the world and do the back offices work for large multinationals.
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More: The Tico Times
• Traditional Tárcoles To Join The Tourism Boom
The tourism boom in the Central Pacific has been, in some ways, a blessing for towns like Jacó, Playa Hermosa and Herradura.
Tourists arrive by the tens — if not hundreds — of thousands to these beaches to relax, surf, fish and generally vacation. Some buy property. Most eat at local restaurants, many use local taxis or transportation companies, and all infuse millions of dollars into the local economy.
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More: The Beach Times
• US Housing Crisis Not Affecting Costa Rica
The crisis in the US housing and financial markets, already spreading to Germany and Japan, is not expected to have a serious impact in Costa Rica, experts said this week.
Despite concerns with a record number of Americans set to lose their homes to foreclosure and house prices getting lower all the time, the general consensus is those buying in Costa Rica are not likely be greatly affected.
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More: The Beach Times
