Metropolitan Monorail for Costa Rica :-)

"We still have some way to go in the normal processes of any project that exists in Costa Rica, which we know are slow, but we must comply with the steps defined in the regulations"

Aleyda Bonilla and Esteban are the representatives of Monorriel Costa Rica and Aleyda Bonilla is the spokesperson for a proposed  Mono-rail project for the Metropolitan Area of San Jose'.

Note: See Videos Below

In the last weeks there has been a rumor about the proposal to build a monorail that would be donated by a Chinese company and placed on several urban roads, which would solve much of the problem of public transport in San Jose.

The monorail can be an efficient way to move people  and  reduce traffic congestion. However, the plan raises several doubts, with out knowing, who would be the donor? Why do that?

To understand the project in greater detail, LA REPÚBLICA had an interview with the representative of the company Monorrieles of Costa Rica, Aleyda Bonilla that we translated with on your behalf into english.

DOUBTS AND ANSWERS

An interview with Aleyda Bonilla:

What is the name of the Chinese company that would be willing to make the donation?

As mentioned before, due to professional confidentiality I must keep the names of the companies with which I have met, private.

Is there any statement from the company about the Costa Rican project?

There was was an informal conversation, where it was said that there could be interest from the Chinese government, and in which definitely they were not going to tell me the details, because those are issues of government to government.

Then, it is up to the Government of Costa Rica to meet with China's and define if there is interest or not.

For the authorities to get together, a formal communication from the Chinese Government should first be received. And for this to happen, there must be also government project plans from the Costa Rican side.

We still have a way to go in the processes of any project that exists in Costa Rica, we know that they are slow, but we must comply with the steps defined in the regulations; This must be before the Incofer announces a public competition at an international level that is what we are waiting for.

Why would the Chinese company donate $ 850 million to Costa Rica for the project?

It is not for me to refer to that.

What would be the total cost of the project?

We are in a preliminary stage, as I have commented publicly. At a conceptualization level, this means that there are not even pre-feasibility studies, but only general information that exists in the international market.

So, the cost of which I have spoken of is approximated at $ 22 million per kilometer which can be corroborated in El Financiero de México where there is a comparison between the cost of the subway, the Fast Passenger Train, and the monorail. There is also a lot in public networks, where bids are given in terms of per meter prices and types of monorail models.

In order therefore to Talk about the final cost, is not possible until the formal studies are completed, which would imply real quotes and at this time we do not have those, yet.

Who would be the owner? Who would be the operator?

It is difficult to say, but the owner of the infrastructure is still the state, even if it is granted.

Who would build it?

When the public bidding poster is removed, the large developer companies will be allowed to participate.

In this case, it is about companies with experience and access to high credit to form consortiums to plan, build and administrate initially and maintain the equipment and monorail on an ongoing basis.

How would the monorail be built in places where there is no circumnavigation, or where circumvallation exists but without a strip in the middle, to place the poles?

The first thing is that in Circunvalación it would not go through the center, but through the external part, where the shoulder is located of more or less 5 meters in the air, of which it would occupy only 1.50 meter on the ground. It therefore would not be necessary to make expropriations and it would be agile to build, because traffic is not stopped, since it does not affect the road traffic.

At the moment when you leave Circunvalación and go to the radial, we are talking about stealing the street from the radial, that 1.5 meters of space.
To have a point of comparison, the bike paths in San José are more than 1.5 meters, so we would remove less space than a bicycle lane.

Pros and Cons:

The transportation system of an elevated monorail has its advantages and disadvantages, including the following (research data from THE REPUBLIC).

PROS:

•    It's fast
•    Does not interfere with road traffic
•    The cost of construction is competitive compared to the elevated train

CONS:

•    Difficult to integrate it with other lines in the future
•    Construction of stations is expensive, because they are high above ground
•    Could Collide with urban environment

Costa Rica Info's Take on it is simple: " It is clean, could be completed and managed relatively quick and affordable. -- It is the best solution Costa Rica has to put an end to the ever increasing traffic problems; which continue to make living and working in and around San Jose less and less attractive otherwise.

WHO is Aleyda Bonilla? - Aleyda Bonilla has extensive consulting experience with the World Bank for Central America, the Caribbean and Africa. President of the Costa Rican Chamber of Real Estate Brokers; professor of economics and administration at ITAN, UACA and Véritas. Manager of Special Projects of CINDE

Costa Rica Mono-Rail Videos:

General Info About Monorails: