Tourist Bus Catches Fire in Costa Rica

A tourist bus caught on fire but none of the 52 passengers were injured. It happened on route 32 in a restaurant parking lot while the group was eating breakfast in the restaurant.

This happened yesterday morning about 150 meters before the crossing to Rio Frio de Sarapiquí. The tour bus was headed to thermal springs in San Carlos.

It is not immediately clear what caused the fire but it is believed to have been an engine failure. The driver heard a detonation similar to a tire exploding and then saw smoke from the engine and a spreading fire.

The bus was completely consumed by flames but they were put out with two fire extinguishers. The bus has been declared a total loss.

During Holy Week, a fire emergency was attended to on average every 9 hours. The population is urged to strengthen preventive actions to avoid further emergencies.

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Corruption in School Construction in Costa Rica

The Minister of Education, Edgar Mora, stated that he suspects corruption schemes related to school construction. He has found irregularities in the office that plans and maintains the construction of schools in Costa Rica.

The problems were apparent since almost a decade ago. They have been referred to as a management crisis that has become chronic. Moreover, they are aggravated by means to disguise corruption schemes.

Some of the problems include delivering materials before having a project to do at the school, using materials designated for sanitary projects to instead create a new building, and overvaluation of projects.

Mora seeks to change the model of leadership in the Directorate of Infrastructure and Educational Equipment (DIEE) in order to correct the problems. He wants to centralize who is in charge so there are not so many people (5,000) involved in making decisions about administrative contracting.

Improvements to Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio National Park

There have been positive changes in Manuel Antonio recently allowing for an increase in the daily limit of visitors to the national park. It is already the most visited national park in the country.

That being said, many complaints were made by tourists and the community about deficiencies in services. There was a sanitary restriction that has now been lifted thanks to improvements in sanitary conditions.

Starting this month, 2,700 people can enter per day instead of the 1,700 when the restriction was in place. The Ministry of Environment and Energy was behind the improvements in the wastewater treatment system at beach 3. Additional portable toilets were also added.

The National System of Conservation Areas, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, as well as community institutions and private companies are to thank for their involvement in bettering the park.

New Costa Rica Shipping Port Barely Staying Afloat

Japdeva is analyzing the possibility of expanding the Moín dock as a means to bring in more business since it is in full financial crisis. The original master plan stated that the berth should have been in operation since 2015 but it still has yet to be tendered.

The construction of the seventh berth would cost over ¢17,500 million but would bring in new business capable of keeping afloat the finances of the Port Administration and Economic Development Board of the Atlantic Coast.

The post is called 5-7 and it would open a space for ships with a draft of up to 14 meters, a size not able to dock at the current berths due to lack of depth. It would be built with external financing.

Another of Japdeva’s ideas is to become a transshipment center where merchandise is transferred from large vessels that arrive with bulk shipments to smaller vessels directed to specific markets.