Last updated: September 2026· Gonzalo Rojas Benavidses, Founding Partner, Colegio de Abogados de Costa Rica No. 17310
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Seven infrastructure projects are advancing in Limón, and they are at five different stages — one with signed financing, several in execution, one with funds assigned but no tender published, one in an active tender after a failed one, and one that exists so far only as a legal framework. None of them changes what a specific property in Puerto Viejo, Cahuita, Cocles or Manzanillo is worth today.
A purchase in the South Caribbean has to make sense on present conditions: its title, its position under the Regulatory Zoning conditions, whether it sits inside or outside the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, its registered legal access and its water situation. Infrastructure, if it arrives, adds value on top of that. It does not substitute for it.
Project status below reflects the position as of September 2026.
Where each project actually stands
| Project | Amount | Stage | Relevance to the South Caribbean |
| Moín IV power plant | US$400 million | Financing signed 31 Aug 2026 | Indirect. Activity concentrates around Moín and central Limón |
| PROERI road works | US$16.5 million | In execution | Direct. Cahuita, Cocles bridge and road, two bridges in Sixaola |
| Electricity and telecoms | ₡16 billion (2024–2028) | In execution | Direct for operating businesses. Power reliability and connectivity |
| Limón airport | US$40.5 million (phases 1–2 of ~US$79 million) | Funds assigned, no tender published | High if built. Would change overland dependence on San José |
| Route 32 widening | Various | Nine years in execution, incomplete | Direct. Main access route; final 3 km still undated |
| New Limón hospital | ₡208–225 billion | Active tender after a failed one | Long term. Healthcare proximity affects relocation decisions |
| Marina and cruise terminal | US$800–854 million | Legal framework approved; not under construction | High potential, medium certainty, long timeline |
Colón amounts convert to roughly US$400–440 million for the hospital and roughly US$31 million for the electricity and telecommunications portfolio, depending on the exchange rate applied.
How should I read the investment figures circulating about Limón?
Ask three questions before using any figure to assess a property: is the amount funded or only announced, does it cover the whole project or one phase, and has construction started?
Figures as high as US$4.5 billion circulate around Limón's development plans. Adding the seven projects above at their published amounts does not reach that total, because aggregate figures of that kind incorporate broader multi-year budget commitments rather than these projects alone. Use the project-level numbers.
The airport shows why phase matters. The announced US$40.5 million comes from JAPDEVA funds and covers phases one and two. The complete four-phase project is estimated at approximately US$79 million. Both figures are accurate and they describe different scopes.
Employment projections need the same care. JAPDEVA has projected more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs associated with the marina. That is an institutional projection for a project that has not been built. Those jobs have not been contracted.
This matters because land prices react to announcements years before construction begins. A buyer who treats future infrastructure as an existing asset is paying today for a benefit that depends on something happening five to seven years from now.
What is the status of Limón International Airport?
Funding has been assigned and no tender has been published. MOPT has indicated the tender could be published in the first quarter of 2027, with construction potentially beginning toward the end of that year. Those dates are projections.
The US$40.5 million allocated from JAPDEVA funds for the initial phases covers:
- An extension of approximately 600 meters to the runway
- A new passenger terminal
- Security and fire protection facilities
- Fuel infrastructure
- Access roads and parking
- Maritime protection works
The project already has a MIDEPLAN code and an updated project profile.
What would the airport change for Puerto Viejo property and hotels?
Puerto Viejo, Cocles, Playa Chiquita, Punta Uva and Manzanillo currently depend almost entirely on overland transfers from San José. On a good day that journey takes approximately four and a half hours.
The publicly stated intention is for the airport to receive direct international flights. If that happens, the South Caribbean could become reachable for a weekend rather than as the second week of a longer trip. That would affect guest profile, nightly rates and demand for short-term rentals.
The condition is not rhetorical. As of September 2026 there is no published bidding document and no awarded company.
For the owner of a small hotel in Cocles, useful preparation can happen now and does not depend on the airport: a commercial license that is current and correctly categorized, a clear position under the applicable Regulatory Zoning conditions, and a corporate structure that can absorb growth. Those conditions affect the business today and determine whether it can respond if demand increases later.
What did the Legislative Assembly actually approve for the marina?
It approved a legal framework, not a construction project. In June 2026 the Legislative Assembly gave final approval to a reform of JAPDEVA's Organic Law expanding its capacity to establish strategic alliances with public or private entities and grant concessions. No contract was awarded and no construction agreement was signed.
The proposed project would transform approximately 27 hectares around the Hernán Garrón dock, including a tourist marina, a cruise terminal, commercial infrastructure, tourism and recreational services, and associated real estate and business development. Published investment estimates range from US$800 million to US$854 million.
How long before the marina could be built?
Five to seven years for the preparatory stages alone, according to experts consulted. The marina is not under construction.
Regulations, terms of reference, financial structuring, competitive processes and partner selection all have to be completed first. Our assessment is that the project carries extraordinarily high potential impact, medium certainty and a long timeline. Presenting it as something about to open gives a buyer an incomplete picture.
For an institutional investor considering participation, the rules governing the strategic alliance and concession model remain unresolved, because the regulations defining how the model will be applied have not been published. That question belongs in the assessment at budgeting stage, not when a contract is ready to sign.
Is the new Limón hospital close to being built?
No. The 2027–2030 National Development Plan does not project full completion by 2030; projected cumulative progress for that year ranges from approximately 54% to 76% depending on methodology. Even under the more advanced official projection, the project would still be under construction at the end of the decade.
The project is in a fresh tender after the first one was declared unsuccessful, with no company submitting a bid even though the work was estimated at approximately US$400 million at the time. The CCSS subsequently published a new procedure for construction and equipment with a budget registered in SICOP of ₡225 billion. In August 2026 the government reported that approximately ₡208 billion was contemplated, with the intention of receiving bids by the end of 2026 and pursuing an award during 2027.
Those figures describe amounts reported at different points in the process. An active tender does not mean the hospital is close to opening.
Why does healthcare infrastructure affect property decisions?
Distance to a modern regional hospital has historically been one of the main constraints on residential, retirement and hotel investment in the Caribbean. For a family evaluating relocation, or a buyer in their sixties considering a home in the region, it is often the first question asked and the first objection raised.
A completed hospital would change that calculation. For now it belongs in a long-term assessment of the region and should not be treated as an existing service or used to justify a price increase today.
Which project has the most certainty behind it?
Moín IV. On 31 August 2026, ICE and BCIE signed a financing agreement under the Energy Security with Sustainability Program. A signed financing agreement is a different degree of certainty from an announcement of intent.
The US$400 million project provides for a 200-megawatt power plant in Limón's central district. Construction is projected to begin in 2026 and commercial operation in 2030. ICE estimates approximately 1,500 direct jobs during development. The construction and operation dates remain projections; the financing milestone has already occurred.
The geography matters for buyers. That activity would concentrate around Moín and central Limón. For Puerto Viejo and the South Caribbean the effect is indirect, and demand generated around the power plant should not be assumed to translate into demand for a property farther south.
What do the electricity and telecommunications works add?
ICE reports a portfolio exceeding ₡16 billion for the Atlantic Zone between 2024 and 2028, including 87 electrical distribution projects, electrification for approximately 3,000 residents, 39 semi-fast electric vehicle chargers, and expansion of fiber-optic infrastructure and mobile coverage.
For a small hotel or tour operator, power reliability and internet access have a daily operational effect. These works receive less attention than the marina and have more immediate practical relevance to an operating business.
What is the condition of Route 32 today?
Better than five years ago and still incomplete. As of 18 September 2026 there was no defined date for widening the final three kilometers toward downtown Limón to four lanes, with pending expropriations and AyA works among the reasons.
The widening project has accumulated approximately nine years of execution with delays, modifications and cost overruns. Lanamme reported 157 pending works and road safety risks in its evaluation. MOPT plans to progressively replace Route 32's ten roundabouts with grade-separated intersections, on a timeline extending to 2030.
For a property buyer or hotel investor, the road's current condition is part of the assessment. Future improvements should be weighted according to their actual progress.
Which works physically reach Cahuita, Cocles and Sixaola?
The smallest investment in the package is the only one with works physically located in the South Caribbean. MOPT and CONAVI are executing 13 resilient infrastructure interventions in the Caribbean Region through PROERI, with an investment of approximately US$16.5 million. Ten are in Limón.
The works relevant to the South Caribbean are infrastructure works in Cahuita, a new bridge over the Cocles River, a road intervention in Cocles, and two bridges in Sixaola. They are expected to produce tangible changes close to local properties and businesses within the next two years.
For someone assessing property in Cahuita or Cocles, those nearby interventions can matter more immediately than a larger project whose benefits remain years away.
What should I check before buying in Puerto Viejo, Cahuita or the South Caribbean?
Five questions, and none of their answers depends on the airport or the marina. Each one determines whether the purchase is viable at all.
| Question | What a complete answer contains |
| Is the property inside or outside the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone? | The zone runs 200 meters inland from the mean high-tide line. The first 50 meters is public domain and cannot be owned by anyone. Inside the remaining 150 meters there is no ownership, only concession, and foreign participation is restricted. Outside the zone, a foreign buyer holds full title. The answer must be documented, not assumed from distance to the beach. Additionally, the lack of zonning plan in the Talamanca region affects the ability to obtain concessions and many properties are under use permits “permiso de uso” Legal nature of these permits must be reviewed with legal care. |
| What does the Regulatory Zoning conditions say about this specific parcel? | Permitted use, density and building restrictions for that zone — not a general statement about the plan. The plan's status remains in dispute, which is itself part of the answer. |
| Is there registered legal access? | A registered right of way appearing in the property record. An existing physical track is not legal access, and rural and hillside parcels in the region are where this most often fails. |
| Does a water concession exist or can be obtained, or are there utilities? | Either a concession already attached to the property, or written confirmation from the relevant authority that one is obtainable or utilities are available. A neighbour's letter or an informal connection is neither. |
| Does the title study come with a physical boundary inspection? | Three things matching: the registry description, the registered survey plan, and the boundaries on the ground. A possession claim does not appear in the registry until a judgment is registered, so a clean record is not by itself proof the parcel is clear. |
This applies to a home purchase, a hotel acquisition or any other real estate investment in the South Caribbean. Expectations about regional growth cannot resolve a problem with the property itself.
What should an existing hotel or business review?
For a business already operating, the question is different: whether the operation is legally prepared to absorb an increase in demand.
- A commercial license with the correct business category
- A current health permit
- A corporate structure that can accommodate increased invoicing volume
- A hiring arrangement suited to seasonal peaks
- Labor and tax advice appropriate to the operation
A business inside the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone operates under a concession regime with different conditions, which remains a real point of friction in Talamanca.
Resolving these matters has value even if the major projects take longer than expected. If demand does increase, the business's legal position determines whether it can respond.
How should the timeline affect a purchase decision?
Weight each project by its actual stage, not by the size of its headline. Treating all seven as funded, under construction and near completion leaves out the information that matters most to a buyer.
Moín IV has signed financing and projected development dates. The electricity, telecommunications and PROERI works are in execution. The airport has assigned funds and an identified process ahead. The hospital has an active tender following a failed procedure. The marina has substantial potential and remains at the structuring stage.
The legal path to purchasing property with full title outside the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone is clear, subject to review of the specific property. Our current assessment is that prices have not yet fully incorporated the infrastructure announcements, though that is an observation about the market rather than a recommendation, and those conditions will not necessarily remain in place.
Checking the property's legal position today is the part that does not depend on any of these projects. Each proposed infrastructure benefit should carry only the weight its current status supports.
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This article describes public infrastructure projects based on information available as of September 2026 and does not constitute legal or financial advice. JAPDEVA regulations and tender schedules remain subject to change. Confirm the current status of any project before making an investment decision.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this resource is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. While we strive to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the content, laws and regulations are subject to change. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please contact our office directly. Some images may be AI generated.
