Feinzaig, Scharf and Bufete Odio & Raven advised in largest Costa Rican Freeway Concession

Feinzaig, Scharf & van der Putten obtained, on August 8th, 2003, the approval from the Costa Rican Comptroller?s Office for the concession agreement for the construction of the San José?Caldera freeway, which will run from the capital San José through the Caldera Port located in the Pacific Ocean.

The approval required more than 18 months of intense negotiations that included a change in government administration and claims filed by multiple interest groups.

The 76.8 kilometers freeway concession, opened to local and international bidders, is the first one to be awarded by the Government and approved by the Comptroller´s Office under the new public bid regulation in force in Costa Rica. The concession company will build and operate the freeway for a term of 25 years. The net present value of the project was estimated in more than US$250 million.

The concession company is now in the process of negotiating and executing the financial agreements from the banks that will finance 80% of the project. The Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) will be the Senior Lender and has already granted the Second Committee approval to the concession. This will be the first project of this type to be financed by IDB in Central America. The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) has also shown great interest in the project.

Leonardo Feinzaig and Eric Scharf, partners of Feinzaig, Scharf & van der Putten, served as general counsel for the concession company, composed by the Argentinean construction company José Cartellone Construcciones Civiles, S.A. and the Canadian construction company SNC-Lavalin.

The Government of Costa Rica was advised by is internal attorneys Francisco Díaz and William Calvo, and by Claudio Donato from Bufete Odio & Raven.