A press release from the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Trade states:
“The five month action plan will involve increasing the number of traffic officers, implementing an electronic collection system for fumigation charges, extending opening hours until midnight, contracting a design for the primary zone, implementing a system of international transit of goods, widening the highway to four lanes, and starting the remodeling of the immigration building. ‘Technological tools exist today that allow us to complete formalities in advance. To promote use of these, and to make the Peñas Blancas border crossing a place to pass through and not to do paperwork, we will establish before the primary zone a checkpoint that will to give priority to exporters who arrive with their paperwork already processed’, said Vice Minister, Fernando Ocampo.
The second phase will aim to the complete remodeling at the border, promote an agreement to ensure correspondence with the authorities in Nicaragua and the establishment of an administrative scheme to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project.
This border is of great importance. In the last year alone it processed exports worth over $1.362 million and imports of about $675 million. On average there were 400 transport units, 32 buses and 54 trucks using this area daily. The annual traffic of people numbers around 1,200,000.”
Source: Ministerio de Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica
More on this topic
August 2011
The first stage of the plan submitted by the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Trade will cost $4 million.
Some of the tasks envisaged for the modernization of the Peñas Blancas border include extending service hours, increasing the amount of traffic officers and expanding the highway to four lanes.
March 2011
Exporters and Government discussed improvements in customs procedures in order to reduce processing times at the border.
Export managers and managers of the 20 companies in charge of 80% of export formalities at the border in Peñas Blancas met this morning with the Minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel Gonzalez, Deputy Minister Fernando Ocampo, Deputy Minister of Finance Jenny Phillips, the Director General of Customs, Desiderio Soto and the manager of the Single Window for Foreign Trade, Marvin Salas to discuss improvements in customs proceedings and reducing processing times at the border.
January 2012
Next week work will begin on expanding the access road to the border of Peñas Blancas to four lanes.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade reported that the works, worth $1 million, will be completed in the first half of the year. In parallel, remodeling will be done to the border post and a new fumigation arc installed for trucks and vehicles.
April 2012
The Costa Rican customs office at Penas Blancas, on the border with Nicaragua, is going through social and commercial chaos pending reforms in infrastructure and procedures.
Delays in the passage of trucks carrying goods are causing major losses to exporters, although business chambers have not conducted any specific studies, said Mario Montero, executive vice president of the Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry (Cacia).
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