Well, the rest of the countries in the CAFTA agreement really want Costa Rica to be part of it, so the request for an extension was successfully granted.

Costa Rica now has until Oct. 1 to enter the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA), according to a pact reached yesterday by the treaty’s signers that extends the deadline by seven months.

Representatives of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and the United States signed the extension document in Washington, D.C., three days before Costa Rica’s March 1 deadline for entering the treaty.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab also urged Costa Rica to join CAFTA as soon as possible.

“We look forward to welcoming Costa Rica as a full member of this important regional free-trade agreement in the next few months,” she said in a statement.

By now only two of the CAFTA bills have become law, while seven more have made substantial progress in the Legislative Assembly. The Arias administration yesterday presented the 12th bill, which would strengthen intellectual property rights.

U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Christopher Padilla is scheduled to meet with President Arias tomorrow to discuss different ways to boost Costa Rican exports to the United States.

This news was met with approval from different Business sectors of the country, as they now that the agreement represents the coming of a new age for the local economy.

It is well known that for every loss suffered by somebody someone else gains something; that statement couldn’t be truer in this case. For when Russian President Vladimir Putin took the decision to put gambling and gamin on a par with those who had alcohol or nicotine addictions; and later officially announced to ban Bookies and Casinos from the Russian cities, the search for a more profitable environment began.

A very detailed search lead Storm’s development team to Costa Rica, where after a throughout study they decided that there was no better place to start anew. Storm International plans for Costa Rica have been relatively kept under wraps; however it is known that they are looking forward to open not only their own luxury resort hotel, but also a mega casino complex both schedule to start functioning this year.

You might be asking yourself, how are they going to finish the project so fast? Well they plan to acquire an existing Hotel (San Jose Hotel) and upgrade it to a 4 stars category, expand it to 60 rooms, create a double-casino, and include several restaurants and bars for the customers. They are looking forward to buy an adjacent building to expand the range of services, including the construction of a multilevel parking.

The casino will have 10 gaming tables and an average of 170 slots machines; however the possibility of increasing the extent of the development is still present, as the management could go above the $5 millions that they originally contemplated for the investment.

Mean while back in Russia, the 5 major Casino locations Storm currently owns will be transformed into city offices, commercial outlets and higher-end hotels as the company also looks into diversifying from its gambling roots and venturing into charter jets and yachts for business men.

The company has taken the decision as to create a new Business Strategy Center in Costa Rica; the plan is to use this Center to provide business consulting to all of the regional branches throughout Latin America with a focus on innovation.

Just a couple of days ago the general manager of P&G operation center Global Business Services, William Merrigan, made the official announcement during a meeting with Costa Rica President Oscar Arias, the Exterior Commerce Minister, and the general director of CINDE (Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives).

Now lets take a look a the numbers

This new project will require 250 employees, and the company is currently looking to fill about 150 applications in the very near future, with qualified personnel that have a high level of English and leadership skills. (Both quite easy to find among the locals)

Procter & Gamble sees approximately $30 millions coming from the Costa Rican branch annually, that is one of the reasons as to why they plan to invest $2.000.000 on this new Business Strategy Center. And why they had budgeted $34 million for its 2008 operations in the country.

Let’s get ready guys, as more companies are becoming aware of the “El Dorado” that Costa Rica has to offer, international developers are always looking to make the first move in order to get the best “piece”.

The Solarium Project, (In Guanacaste)

The Solarium project is being built on 104 hectares of land, and the developers are currently building a complex that will include features like a luxury Hotel, two banking centers, office buildings, and a state of the art hospital with heliport.

On addition to the features mentioned above, the complex will also have huge and well protected warehouses, a gasoline station, and 800 condominiums.

I told you guys this is a big project.

To make the best out of this $300 million dollar investment, the Solarium group is also taking the necessary steps in order to include a “Zona Franca”, (A free Trade Zone.) on the complex.

“Guanacaste is developing as an area for recreational tourism, however, we have not overlooked the need for services. With this project we want to offer health and business services”

Those were the words of Silvana Batalla, director of Solarium; she added that the project will be finished within 6 years, and the initiative will create 15.000 direct jobs in the area.

Taking that into consideration, Guanacastecos (Locals of the area), will have time to prepare themselves to face the coming job opportunities; and investors will have time to analyze the project development.

Among the challenges that developing a project of this size could bring, the lack of potable water comes to mind right away; however Silvana Batalla says that the project developers have looked into all this things, and that three wells will service the needs of the Solarium project.

Ricardo Samper, mayor of Liberia expressed that he is not concerned over the demand for services, counting on the fact that the Solarium developers have indeed everything in place to meet them.

The Solarium project will definitely create another boom on the commercial sector for the Guanacaste area, and the benefits involved for future investments on the project are expected to show its rewards quite soon; as many of the buildings such as the warehouses are for the most part fully operational.

Just remember what I told you and write down that name.

The TLC was decided by referendum last October7, and it is scheduled to go in effect on March 1; however Costa Rican president Oscar Arias, is expected to ask the other country members of the agreement for yet another extension on the deadline, as the legislators are a little slow in passing the 13 complimentary laws.

This has been a “turn off” for many investors; yet those that have been in the business for a long time knows when something is worth the wait, just like my old man use to say:

“All the things in life that are easy to get are also more likely to go awry son”

The wait has proven good to many, as earlier this month the Costa Rican legislature finally approved its “general communication law” in the first round of debates with a promising vote of 36 to 19. The second reading required to make the bill into law is expected in the coming weeks.

America Movil from Mexico and Telefonica from Spain were the first private companies to move to Costa Rican lands, as they are trying to open the market for prepaid cell phones to local consumers. And now that the telecommunication law looks like it’s just a couple of days from being approved, AT&T, Digicel, and Huawei, (A Chinese Telecom Company.) are getting interested to invest in the country.

This is a great step for the Costa Rica business scene, for with the coming of these new companies and services, the country will continue to remain among the most popular for international investors.

Back in 1998 the environmentalists won the first round as they pressured former Costa Rican president Abel Pacheco to cancel a 1998 concession for oil exploration the government had granted to Houston based Harken Energy Corporation.

This year however the exploration for oil in C.R. is a new reality, as Costa Rica and China officially announced that they have agreed to jointly explore for oil and natural gas in the Central American country.

Even though the environmentalists are quite displeased, the initiative encompasses several benefits for the country, such as to improve the refining process, develop new petrol products (like lubricants), as well as training employees to put the new processes in action; therefore the local government is doing everything in their power to make this project a complete success.

Environment Minister Roberto Dobles publicly announced China National Oil and the Gas Exploration & Development Corporation, as the ones in charge of putting the action plan in place. He also added that it may be four to six years before the project gets started and that the exploration process in general is not as environmentally risky as other aspects of the petroleum industry.

“We have the responsibility to ensure the development of the country, always meeting strict environmental standards,” he said.

Costa Rica is considered to be one of the 20 countries with greatest biodiversity in the world; and the more than 500,000 species that are found in its territory represent nearly 4% of the total species estimated worldwide. So Mr. Dobles knows that the task ahead of him is certainly demanding, for not only the eyes of the environmentalist are on his shoulders; but also those of future project developers.

I will be following this closely.

I know, I’m one of them

It has been confirmed that the well known franchise will start building their new project this year in October; and the new name for their Guanacaste hotel will be:

Hilton Garden Inn Liberia Airport

The name comes from the fact that the new hotel will be located at a close distance from the Guanacaste airport; yet far enough as not to be interrupted by the planes activity. (Or so I hope)

The amount invested on this new project is approximately of $19 millions, and the impact it will have on the Guanacaste area will be considerable; concerning not only new job openings for Costa Rican professionals; but also boosting up the government initiative to upgrade the local infrastructure.

As a final note I will mention the fact that the Hilton name will become really popular this year, as many other luxury hotels in the country like Fiesta Premiere and Fiesta Puntarenas hotel, are looking forward to change their names to Hilton and Doubletree.

The airport was named after Daniel Oduber Quiros, who served as president of Costa Rica from 1974 to 1978. It first opens its facilities in 1995, since then the investment on its infrastructure has been considerable and has certainly paid off.

When I first look at some pictures of the airport I had some doubts; it simply look too good to be true; but when I started to do some research I found out that it actually has everything it needs, and especially 3 things I always look for in an airport when I travel to any Latin American country:

Paramedics – Fire Fighters – Capable Technicians.

Roughly speaking, the airport consists of a two story building with an outdoor shaded seating area, on the ground floor you will easily find the airline desks for check in and Money Exchange facilities.

Upstairs you will see the bathrooms, a small cafe, (You really want to try their mocha cappuccino) the airport Administration Office and a couple of airline offices.

Taxis wait out front for passengers.

The main Highway 21 is less than a mile away from the airport complex, and can be walked in about 10 minutes, (If you are up for a small workout.)

There is a public bus stop right at the intersection of the highway and airport entrance to take you either to the city of Liberia, or to the beaches such as Tamarindo and Papagayo.

Due to the “heavy activity” it’s been continuously experiencing with the current boom in the Costa Rica real estate market, the Liberia international airport is constantly renewing its infrastructure, and according to the experts it might soon be equal if not better than the San Jose airport.

When it comes to the boom in Costa Rica real estate, the huge hotel franchises are not the only ones moving their eyes closer to the Costa Rican lands in search of their piece of a green “El Dorado”. Many other companies are paying attention to all this movement, and they know that the market is more likely going to keep moving up, as every year more and more future investors are drawn to the Guanacaste area looking for the best place to start their developing plans.

They know that the investors want to move now, get as fast as they can to this green paradise in Central America, and see with their own eyes what is going on in the Costa Rica real estate scene, so they can have a first shot at the best offers.

Taking this into consideration, the transport industry is gathering more information in order to provide a wider variety of options to the growing number of people that wants to check the Costa Rican marvels.

American Airlines, and Delta Airlines, are among the first to come up with a notable solution for the hundreds of travelers that are looking forward to visit CR. And now they offer nonstop routes to Guanacaste in Costa Rica.

The service is really good, plus flights are available form Dallas or Miami; and if you prefer to go to San Jose (To enjoy the many advantages of t visiting the Costa Rican Capital, like most of my friends do.) Nonstop flights are also available to San Jose.

It is certainly interesting how this Central American country is becoming a “beacon” for new development opportunities, and with initiatives such as the ones from this 2 giants, I can only say that things are going to get better for all of us, as we are looking to get more “Bang for our Bucks”

With a population of 4 million people, Costa Rica possess several features that set the country apart form the rest of its competitors; like having the region’s oldest democracy, solid political stability, good infrastructure, and an impressive 95% literacy rate.

Not good enough? Let’s take a look at the following information.

The now famous Free Trade Agreement with the United States has companies such as Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Stream, and Intel making significant investments in Costa Rican outsourcing call centers. This have carry more than good results in terms of world class ranking; for despite the lack of experience between Costa Rica and powerhouses like India, and China, the call center ranking given to Costa Rica place the country just a couple of points behind them; and is now being considered as one of the most complete, and most competitive offshore outsourcing destinations offering both high-paying, highly sought-after jobs.

Two Major points to consider

The business conditions are certainly stable and very secure, unlike other countries with noticeable lower levels of working conditions and quite unstable governments. The Costa Rican Call Center scene offers the highest quality in bilingual call center support for wages that are surprisingly 40%-80% lower than those found in the United States centers.

Having a Central Standard Time zone, mix with Costa Rica’s key geographic location, turns Costa Rica an into and ideal solution, ensuring easy access to near-shore delivery capabilities.

Just consider the time and the money that it will take to flight your personnel and equipment to a city in India, and once you have done that get a couple of minutes to weight those numbers against the possibilities that Costa Rica can offer you, as “the new India” of our American Continent.