More than $1 million invested in improvements at Liberia airport

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced that work from the investment of $1,521,064 for the repair of the runway at the Daniel Oduber Quirós international Airport is in the final stages in time for the high tourist season. The airport is in the district of Liberia in the Province of Guanacaste.

According to the authorities, in addition to the improvements on the tarmac, signs also were painted there.

The investment was financed with own resources of the Technical Council of Civil Aviation and the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.

The Airport experienced significant growth in activity thanks to the arrival of more airlines and the increase in tourism in the area, said authorities in its statement.

According to the statistics provided by the General Directorate, in 2018 20,799 arrival and departures were made and 1,095,340 passengers passed through the terminal.

During the first six months of this year, from January to June, 11,438 flights were logged as well as 689,319 passengers.

Related to the recent investments on local airports, as A.M. Costa Rica previously reported on Sept 11, the Directorate announced that increases in tourism in the Osa Peninsula area were due to the improvements made at the local airport located in Drake Bay.

According to the authorities, the cost of improvements to the airport was $5,880,979, financed with the institution resources.

Among the improvements made to the airport in Drake are the expansion of the landing strip, the construction of a parking platform for three type B aircraft, and the improvement of the security fence.

The number of passengers who have used the airport, from January to July, was 12,727. This is equivalent to almost twice the number of passengers registered in the same period last year, which were 6,525, said the authorities in its statement.

The number of flights, including both arrivals and departures, at the airport from January to June, was 1,686, which is 613 flights more than the same period last year.

More recent investments on local airports, the authorities announced the investment of $10,367,502, in improvements to three airports located in the province of Limón.

The first investment of $2,178,102 was for in the International Airport of Limón for the construction of a new building for passengers.

This building has waiting rooms, administrative offices, an area for the division of national and international passenger flows, fire system, and a parking area, among other improvements.

The second investment was in the local airport of Guapiles, with $2,865,259 for the construction of a new airstrip 18 meters wide and 1,137 meters long. The security fence around the airport was also repaired, among other minor improvements.

Also, an investment of $1,054,050 for the construction of a hangar and a building for officers of the Air Surveillance Service. An additional $462,025 will be invested in the illumination of the runway. In total, the estimated investment is $4,381,334 in improvements for this airport.

The third investment of $2,805,448 will be for Tortuguero airport, for improvements in the airstrip, the construction of an aircraft parking platform, and a new building for passenger service, officers, and air operators.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, they are now in the process of an agreement with the Ministry of Security to include officers within the airport facilities.

In June, the authorities announced the advances in other rural airports improvements as follows:

- Golfito Airport, located in the southern area of the province of Puntarenas, the remodeling is 95 percent complete with an investment of about $1,835,230 for remodeling the airstrip and the main building.

- Pérez Zeledón Airport, located in the south of San José, the remodeling is 95 percent complete, with an investment of about $375,387 in the construction of a new airport module and expansion of the aircraft parking platform.

- Upala Airport, in the Alajuela province, received an investment of $2,001,300 for expanding the runway, repairing the perimeter fence, and repairing pipes. It is estimated that it will be completed in 2020.

- La Managua airport in Quepos, in the province of Puntarenas, with an investment of about $8,997,511. The entire building will be repaired, and there will be a platform for parking, an extension in the runway, improvements in security strips, track lighting, and a perimeter fence.

In the case of this airport in Quepos, it was closed since December 2017. In January 2018, the General Direction of Aviation canceled the contract with the company that was doing the remodeling, because it was not able to comply with the work specifications.

This year the airport was open, and the Directorate is in charge of its managing.

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In which another airport, should the authorities invest in improvements? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com