Seeking to Enter Costa Rican Railway Construction Market

Kim Han-young (center), chairman and CEO of Korea National Railway poses for a photo after signing a contract with its partner in Costa Rica through a video conferencing system on Feb. 24.

Korea National Railway (KR) announced on Feb. 24 that it has signed a contract with rail authority of Costa Rica to carry out a feasibility study on a plan to restore the rail line between San Jose and Puntarenas.

KR signed the contract with Incofer, an autonomous state institution in Costa Rica that owns the national railway infrastructure and operates virtually all freight and passenger services.

Incorfer plans to restore a 98.3 km line linking San Jose, Costa Rica's capital area, and Puntarenas on the Pacific coast. KR will verify the feasibility of the project jointly with other Korean companies --- Dongil Engineering and Soosung Engineering and Consulting.

KR has maintained close technical ties with Costa Rica. In 2019, it carried out a railway management consulting project for Costa Rica, which was awarded by The Inter-American Development Bank. Since 2020, it has been stepping up its efforts to land passenger railway projects in the Greater Metropolitan Area. It has formed a consortium with Korean companies to win orders.

The San Jose area passenger railway project is aimed at easing traffic congestions in the Greater Metropolitan Area by building five electrified dual-track rail lines with a total of length of 84.9 km. The project cost is estimated at about 1.8 trillion won.

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