Narayan AmmachchiThe Costa Rican province of Heredia is known for free trade zones and the global services industry, but there is growing concern that a lack of investment in road infrastructure could halt its growth.
According to a statement by Horacio Alvarado, Mayor of Belen, which appeared on the country’s news daily The Nation, restrictions on new construction projects, issued by the country’s Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, are taking their toll.
The Nation reported that traffic jams had hindered the creation of 3,000 jobs in the area’s service sector industry, which has already employs around 20,000 people.
The Ministry of Public Works imposed the restrictions in an attempt to force the municipality to seek solutions to traffic chaos, which lengthens the travel time for a large number of commuters in the province.
Belen hit the headlines a couple of years ago when US chipmaker Intel closed its silicon chip factory there. Traffic congestion was not among the reasons Intel cited for the closer. The chipmaker later expanded its services division in the country, adding a new research facility. Last year, Bosch Service Solutions, a BPO arm of German industrial giant Bosch, set up a service center in Heredia, creating nearly 300 jobs.
The paper did not narrate as to how traffic congestion could hinder the growth of so many jobs. But the country’s investment promotion agency CINDE has also echoed similar concerns.
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