Costa Rica begins works under Hurricane Otto rebuilding plan

The Costa Rican government has begun implementing the first actions under the 97bn-colón (US$172mn) general recovery plan for the areas hit by last year's Hurricane Otto, which was approved by the country's national emergency commission CNE in early March.

The first project to be implemented is aimed at cleaning up and channel the Zapote River in the area where it crosses Yolillal, San Isidro, San Judas, El Carmen and the center of Upala, which are located in the Upala canton of the country's Alajuela province.

Works on the project are expected to last three months and will involve an estimated investment of 253mn colones, according to authorities.

The project is being carried out by specialists from the public works ministry's department of river works and from state power company ICE.

According to a Costa Rican government statement, 80 projects have been approved to date as part of the Hurricane Otto general recovery plan, the majority of which entail the reconstruction of roads, bridges and sewers, as well as the cleanup and channeling of certain rivers.

Priority works for some of those projects are set to begin in the next few weeks before the start of this year's rainy season, the statement read.

In the case of the Zapote river, more actions are expected to be carried out in other sections.

The government's general plan entails carrying out 945 projects and actions, including reconstruction of road infrastructure and waterworks mainly in different regions of the country's Alajuela and Guanacaste provinces.

A total of 103 projects included in the plan, amounting to 15bn colones, are being coordinated by the CNE, affected municipalities and a president-appointed reconstruction commissioner.

Hurricane Otto made landfall in Costa Rica in late November last year. It affected 461 communities in six of the country's seven provinces, causing damage to road infrastructure, communication and power lines, as well as to agricultural land.

According to the Costa Rican government, the cost of rebuilding all the areas damaged by the hurricane amounts to 130bn colones.

Some 5.67bn colones have already been invested to date as part of the government's first-response relief efforts, which included rehabilitation of infrastructure, support for agricultural producers and subsidies for low-income communities.

Foreign parties, such as the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) and the government of the United Arab Emirates, have also contributed to the reconstruction efforts with significant donations.