One of the main complaints of Costa Ricans and foreigners alike is how slow the Costa Rica government is when it comes to the execution of public works; hopefully this will improve soon as Congress has taken steps that will allow the State to build more efficiently and faster.

The Executive Branch has presented a proposal to modify Articles 18,25,30,32 and 57 of the Expropriation Law, which would reduce legal and administrative paperwork and requirements for the State to take over the lands, avoiding the interruption and progress of important public work projects.

One of the changes involves reducing the number of public interest statements requested by the courts; currently they need to present two or more statements, while with the new law it would only require one.

Another change involves establishing the takeover of the land as an eminently administrative act. In the event that the owner doesn’t agree with the set price the negotiation will be handled by judicial proceedings.

Article 19 of the Legal Notification Law would also be modified, so that the legal resolutions can be notified through the same means or place listed in the administrative file, whether or not it regards an expropriation. This would prevent delays in the process that are currently caused due to the inability to contact a person that needs to be notified.

The proposal was approved in first debate in Congress, “We are very satisfied with this approval to modify the norm since this will allow us to start with several important projects for the country such as the extension of Route 32, the road Cañas-Barranca, the ring road and the project Playa Naranjo-Paquera”, said Mario Durán, Ministry of Public Works and Tranport.