UAE disburses US$10mn Costa Rica aqueduct reconstruction grant

A US$10mn grant the United Arab Emirates (UAE) awarded Costa Rica in January is already in the coffers of state-owned lender Banco de Costa Rica, the government said in a statement.

The funds will be used to repair 25 aqueducts that were damaged when Hurricane Otto made landfall in November.

The aqueducts are in the country's Alajuela, Guanacaste and Limón provinces: 20 are in Upala, three in La Cruz, one in Bagaces and one in Barra del Colorado Norte.

According to national water utility AyA officials, the work to be carried out has already been planned.

"This massive support we are getting is crucial to repair the aqueducts. We will now be able to intervene in the reconstruction not through temporary solutions but in a comprehensive way that benefits 41,000 people directly," Mariano Figueres, national reconstruction commissioner, said. "The priority now is executing this work, with full transparency."

According to authorities, AyA will use some of the funds to carry out work on projects in other parts of the country.

Securing reconstruction aid was among the objectives of a visit that President Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera made to the UAE this year.

Hurricane Otto also caused significant damage to road infrastructure, communication and power lines and farmland. Last week, the national government estimated that it needs 130bn colones (US$232mn) to rebuild the areas hit by the hurricane.

Some 106bn colones in damage was caused, with Upala canton in Alajuela province (38bn) and Bagaces in Guanacaste (19bn) being the hardest hit.