By Wendy Anders

Last week the Costa Rican Ministry of Finance and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement this month for US$280,000 to support mechanisms for managing public works programs in the country.

The donation is designed to support the Costa Rican government as they adopt technical, legal, administrative and procedural reforms. Specific outcomes of the aid include an action plan with specific short, medium and long-term measures that will improve and strengthen the government’s capacity to execute public infrastructure projects. This involves enhancing the government’s planning, bidding, execution, supervision and control procedures as they relate to public investments, so that the projects can be carried out efficiently and efficiently, said Finance Ministry officials.

The IDB will implement the project in coordination with Costa Rican authorities, and will select, contract, supervise and pay for consulting services and other expenses related to the technical cooperation agreement, in accordance with Bank policies and procedures, said the IDB.

The Costa Rican government has committed to provide all technical and logistical support to both the Bank’s consultants and staff, and to allocate the necessary staff to ensure adequate follow-up during the execution of the technical cooperation project. These support and follow-up activities are estimated as an in-kind contribution and are valued at approximately US $70,000, said the Finance Ministry.

Helio Fallas, First Vice-President and Minister of Finance, expressed his gratitude to the IBD for the trust in the work that of the Solis administration and for their support of the development of public works in the country, which are a priority for the current government.

Fidel Jaramillo, representative of the Inter-American Development Bank in Costa Rica, stressed the importance of this technical assistance program to strengthen the execution of public investment projects that improve the productivity and well-being of Costa Ricans. The IDB is currently funding projects in the transportation, energy, water and sanitation, education, citizen security, innovation, and ecotourism sectors.

The event was also attended by Gina Montiel, manager of the IDB’s Central America, Dominican Republic and Mexico Regional Department.