10 July 2026

Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly has given a final approval for reforms to boost plans for a marina in Limón. This would herald a major push for tourism in the Caribbean region of the country.

Controversial former President Rodrigo Chaves will oversee the project which, combined with reforms to JAPDEVA, has raised the hackles of critics. However, proponents of the project argue this will allow authorities to seek strategic partners for construction in Limón.

The plans consist of a marina and cruise terminal on the Caribbean coast and it received unanimous support from all 50 lawmakers.

Once it receives President Laura Fernández’s signature, the plan will become law. The reform changes JAPDEVA’s organic law to allow the state port authority to enter into alliances with public or private partners whether they be national or foreign entities. This will allow the agency to develop large projects on an infrastructure, tourism, commerce, technology and service basis.

Chaves proposed a US$10bn plan for a marina in Limón during his presidency but opponents in Congress eventually blocked it by citing JAPDEVA’s own regulations. The plans for Limón have been discussed for years and the reform does not mean that construction will start on the marina. Instead, JAPDEVA can pursue projects with oversight from technical studies, economic justification and oversight. Each alliance has to be approved by the agency’s board of directors with a 50 year limit on agreements. Projects will still be subject to oversight from the Comptroller General Office, the main public sector spending watchdog.

An additional 1.5% fee on gross income will be added to each alliance to help finance supervision and oversight. This was at the recommendation of the Comptroller Office who had expressed reservations of how strategic alliances would be used in public infrastructure projects and whether they were ways to get around PPP laws.

The final version of the bill added that projects on JAPDEVA public land cannot lose public ownership. Nor can it be sold, leased or used as collateral.

Critics argue this is a rewritten version of Chaves’s “Ley Jaguar” which suffered constitutional problems and remained unfulfilled at the end of his presidency. Chaves will oversee a team made up of officials from the Ministry of Public Works (MOPT), ICT (Tourism Institute), JAPDEVA, Minae (Environment Ministry), Finance and the Presidency.

“I entrust this project to Mr. Rodrigo; he will coordinate the team. (…) This isn’t about favouritism, because this is giving a great deal of additional responsibility to someone who already manages two ministries, but honor to whom honor is due, and I told them I’m going to take advantage of his experience,” said President Fernández.

The marina and cruise terminal is a project valued at US$900mn and would generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs and spearhead Limón’s development.

“I told them I’m going to take advantage of his experience. Mr. Rodrigo, of the entire cabinet, is the one with the most experience in financial structuring, because I’m sure we’re going to hunt for private investors willing to take advantage of the beauty of the Costa Rican Caribbean,” added Fernández.

The jobs created are essential to combatting drug trafficking and insecurity in the area, argued Fernández. The president promised that the project would be free of corruption and would promote Limón as a world-class tourism destination.

“I come here today to sign a pact with you, a pact that we will develop this project with excellence, with transparency, free of corruption and cronyism. We will develop this project, but not as an isolated project; it will be linked to a comprehensive development model, which is what this province needs,” concluded Fernández.

Source: Central America Briefing | Vol 14, Issue 14