Costa Rica airport set for take-off

Work will begin next year on a new US$3.5 billion international airport in Costa Rica.

Located in Orotina, approximately 60 km west of the country’s capital, San Jose, the airport will be constructed in four phases, as a PPP (public private partnership) project.

Carlos Villalta, Cost Rica’s minister for public works, said the first phase of the project would be completed by 2027, with the airport fully operational in 2047.

The US$1.9 billion first phase, to be financed by the private sector, will include one terminal for both international and domestic passengers and a rail link to San Jose.

The initial work will also include the development of an ‘airport city’, incorporating both commercial and residential developments.

Planning for the airport has been carried out by UK-based engineering firm, Mott MacDonald, which estimated passenger demand would be around 7.8 million for the first year of operation, and 50 million by the end of the century.