Northern zone infrastructure development

The project"s four components will be implemented by four Government of Costa Rica (GOCR) entities. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) will upgrade 152 km of existing dirt roads in the project area to all-weather gravel status, including a 120.4 km trunk farm-to-market road and three spur road segments totaling 31.4 km; 15 permanent bridges will also be upgraded. The National Community Development Organization (DINADECO) will use A.I.D. funds to establish a Community Development Fund (CDF) to finance the purchase by village development committees of materials and equipment needed to build social infrastructure such as community centers (serving as schools, health posts, and meeting places), small wells, and bridges. The communities will contribute land and labor for these projects, at least 65 of which, benefiting 20,000 people, are targeted. The CDF is also expected to help solidify weak and generate new community organizations in the region. The Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy (MIDEPLAN) will establish an office in Upala, the hub of the project area, to monitor project implementation and to initiate at least 5 analytic and feasibility studies for future development projects and/or pilot development efforts. These studies and projects will be financed from MIDEPLAN"s Pre-Investment Fund, which will be co-capitalized for project purposes by A.I.D. and the GOCR. Studies, for which A.I.D. will finance 36 person-months of long-term technical assistance, will include an environmental assessment of the project area and evaluation of the hydrologic potential of the forests on the north slope of the Guanacaste cordillera. Finally, P.L. 480 Title I local currency generations will be used by the Agrarian Development Institute (IDA) to purchase 15,000 ha of underutilized land with agricultural potential in the project area for colonizing by 700-800 landless families (although settlement costs will not be covered) and to provide full title to some 1,000 small and medium farmers.