by Rod Hughes
What if they opened a landfill and nobody came?
In late June, the Costa Rican courts ordered the government to pay a construction company, Constructora Hernán Solís a hefty fine for a landfill the company had open between 1993 and 1995—29 months—without receiving so much as a single banana peel of garbage. The Esparza facility was awaiting municipal contracts that never materialized.
The court said the government must pay the company $10,577,000.
Meanwhile, the Rio Azul landfill, finally closed this month after a series of aborted closures over its 30 years of operation, is still giving trouble. An inspection by the Association of Engineers and Architects revealed that the landfill is unstable and could threaten the nearby village of Rio Azul with landslides during heavy rains. FEDEMUR. the ex-landfill operator, warned that the site needed a proper “technical closure,” that is, installation of drainage and landscaping.
But the former operator offered the government some solace by noting that it could be paid back by a grant from FEDEMUR as well as by repayment of the heavy debts owed by the municipalities that brought their garbage there for years.
Then there is the endless squabble between the government and Alterra, the firm that was hired to modernize Juan Santamaría International Airport near San Jose as well as administer it. The disagreements began shortly after Alterra took over its assignment and continued through 11 arbitrations that have cost the government $12.8 million in legal fees. Worse, the government has lost six of them, won four and one was thrown out when the court said it did not have jurisdiction—a record that would get a soccer All Star coach fired even before a World Cup.
In the latest set-to, Alterra claimed the government owed it $8 million for delays in expropriating private land just south of the main runway so the company can do its job. Two months ago, it was revealed that early approach lights are not functioning because the land on which they are situated is private and maintenance crews cannot trespass. The landowner closed off the land after, he said, they broke down the fence to get in and failed to repair it.
Civil Aviation, the oversight agency, for its part, has issued one stern but toothless ultimatum after another for Alterra to quit fooling around and do its job or the government would find another company that would.