China Provides RMB 150M Yuan in an ETCA Financing National Development Plan Projects (linked to 70440, 70431, 70445, 70429, and 70371)

During the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solis on January 6th, 2015, China agreed to provide Costa Rica a grant through an economic and technical cooperation agreement. The grant will be for National Development Plan projects.

On December 11, 2015, the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement was signed between the People's Republic of China and the Government of Costa Rica to grant 150 million Chinese Yuan (RMB) to the Costa Rica for national development purposes.

Prior to the signing of the ETCA, the two governments agreed that the funding would be allocated to 4 separate projects which was achieved through the Technical Mission for Evaluation and Comprehensive Research conducted by the People's Republic of China on October 10, 2015.

These projects are as follows: High opportunity schools network (Red de colegios de alta oportunidad) - MEP, Los Diques Metropolitan Park (Parque Metropolitano Los Diques) - MIVAH, Drinking water supply for Cañas (Abastecimiento de agua potable para Cañas) - AyA, Laboratory of research and production of marine species, regional market and eleven collection centers (Laboratorio de investigación y producción de especies marinas, Mercado regional y Once centros de acopio) - INCOPESCA.

Each project has entered the implementation and/or completion stage. 1.

A pilot program introducing Mandarin programs at 6 schools out of the 11 identified as part of the "red de colegios de alta oportunidad" began in 2016. 2.

A ¢2,000 million budget to begin construction on the Parque Metropolitano Los Diques was officially approved by the Asamblea Nacional on November 21st, 2020; however, on December 22nd, 2021, Costa Rica's Minister of Housing declared that the funding would be reallocated because a preliminary study was necessary to evaluate the risk of landslides in the area.

The Legislative Assembly subsequently voted to reallocate the original budget as follows: ¢1,000 million for the Park; ¢700 million for the Pura Pura Museum, which stands in San Francisco de Agua Caliente; and ¢200 for the studies. Studies are ongoing. 3. On March 24, 2022, the Cañas-Bebedero project was inaugurated.

This project, fueled by a ₡9,815 million Chinese investment, brought the most modern drinking water treatment plant in Costa Rica to Guanacaste, a region that has historically faced water supply problems.

The project will provide clean drinking water to some 37,000 people from the communities of Cañas, Palmira, San Miguel, Bebedero and Porozal, for 20-years; a possible second stage is being explored in which the plant's capacity may be expanded to 156 liters per second. 4.

Multiple local warehouses/collection centers (centros de acopio) have been constructed since the 2015 pledge to facilitate recycling; it is unclear whether/which of these projects are linked to the promised Chinese funding for eleven such centers. Implementation/completion dates are unclear.