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Deputies approve on first debate more than $31 million in loans to financing improvements in the National Theater
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Tuesday congressional deputies approved in the first debate a loan of $31,329,706 from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration to finance repairs at the National Theater*. With this loan officials said they intend to make improvements in the building in accordance with the current construction regulations and technology in order to ensure the preservation of the building considered as cultural heritage. Among the most important improvements will be in electrical wiring, new fire prevention systems, an annex building for use as a warehouse and administrative offices. One of the votes against the loan came from Mileidy Alvarado Arias, deputy of the Restauracion Nacional Party, who said that during the analysis of this loan there was information about the credit conditions that were not studied enough. According to Alvarado, the other deputies focused on the need to approve the loan "without analyzing certain considerations and trying to silence any questioning about it. I clarified my opposition is not against the restoration of the National Theater, but it is against the detail of the loan itself. " One of the deputies who voted to approve the loan is Enrique Sanchez, from the government party Acción Ciudadana. He said this project addresses some specific emergencies that clearly exist in the theater and were also detected by the Costa Rican Fire Department. "It is a program, which has all to do with the safety of the infrastructure and the people who daily attend the National Theater, the actors and artists who come to the Theater." In April, as A.M. Costa Rica reported, Fred Herrera, former theater director, and officials of the Ministry of Culture announced the loan called Integral Program of Security and Conservation of the Historic National Theater of Costa Rica. That program listed a series of repairs to the theater and in areas where administrative employees work. "The construction includes the change of the electrical system and the fire-prevention system, a technological adaptation of the stage, building new administrative offices and a tunnel that connects the theater with the administrative building," said the ministry on its statements. The theater construction began in 1891, and it opened to the public in 1897. It was declared by the Legislative Assembly a national symbol of historical - architectural heritage and cultural freedom in September 1998. The loan must go through a second round of votes before final approval, which is scheduled to take place July 1. ---------------- Do you know any other historical building where the government should make repairs? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com |
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