WB approves $72.5 mn to revitalize City-Port of Limon

10 Jan '08

3 min read

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a loan for Costa Rica in the amount of US$72.5 million to finance the revitalization of the city of Limon and to support the modernization of its port.

“With its historic center and unique Caribbean identity, Limon has great potential for tourism development but this is not being realized due to limitations in its urban planning and management capacity,” said Laura Frigenti, World Bank Director for Central America. “This loan will help the city of Limon to diversify its economy and to develop both tourism and trade in a sustainable manner, while creating a more livable environment for the city's poorest inhabitants.”

While Costa Rica as a whole has an impressive development record, the Atlantic region is lagging behind, with one in five of its inhabitants living in poverty. The Atlantic port-city of Limon is one of the country's most decayed cities and suffers from high unemployment and crime rates.

The port of Limon, the busiest port in Central America after Panama, is critical to the competitiveness of Costa Rica's trade, but has become a major bottleneck to the country's growth due to lack of reform and inefficiency. The congestion in the port affects the city as heavy freight traffic has to pass through the city center to get to the Limon terminal.

The City-Port of Limon Project will help to address these challenges through support for actions in four key areas:

Urban and cultural revitalization: Investments focused on rescuing Limon's unique cultural identity, while improving the city's urban environment (sewerage, drainage, paving of streets) and attractiveness to visitors.

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