Caldera Port I

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In August 2006, Costa Rica’s Pacific port authority, Instituto Costarricense de Puertos del Pacífico (INCOP), and the Sociedad Portuaria Granelera De Caldera S.A. officially entered into a 20-year contract to build, own and ultimately transfer a new grain terminal in Caldera Port on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The consortium Consorcio Portuario Caldera I was awarded the contract as part of a broad port modernization initiative to reduce costs and increase efficiency in the country’s ports began in 2001. A concession for Caldera Port’s multi-purpose terminal was awarded to Consorcio Portuario Caldera II under the same initiative with to the same group of investors. Consorcio Portuario Caldera I presented the only offer, an initial payment of US $8,201,000. The bidding began in August 2001 and the contract was officially awarded in January 2002. Consorcio Portuario Calder I is comprised of two Colombian and two Costa Rican companies respectively: Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura S.A.(a subsidiary of Grupo Empresarial del Pacifico S.A. (GEPSA), Estacion de Servicios Brisas del Pacífico S.A., Comercializadora R y S, S.A. and Logistica de Granos S.A. The ownership is entirely private. Total investment commitments in facilities were approximately US $21 million. The signing of the contract was delayed due to disputes over the Costa Rican government’s authority to concede the ports and the severance package for the port workers employed by INCOP. A settlement was reached for an indemnity of US $19 million. The contract was officially signed in April 2006. A three-month transition period commenced to fulfill the obligations of the contract. The contract reached financial closure upon fulfillment of these obligations in August 2006. Under the terms set in the contract, the concessionaire had to establish a trust with the initial payment of US $8,201,000. The concessionaire also had to pay guarantees of US $250,000; US $2,053,542; and US $90,000 per year to ensure the fulfillment, construction and operation of the project. The construction fee, amounting to 10% of the cost of the construction, could be returned upon the satisfactory completion of construction. In addition to the above fees, the concessionaire was obligated to pay 5% of annual revenues in canon fees to INCOP. In February 2015, the new terminal was inaugurated. On October 2016, SAAM announced the acquisition of a 51% stake at Sociedad Portuaria Granelera De Caldera S.A. Local firms Saret (21%) and Logística de Granos (19%), as well as Colombian company Grupo Empresarial del Pacífico (9%) kept their stakes in the project. In addition to the listed investment in government assets, 5% of the yearly earnings of the concessionaire will be paid to the Costa Rican government.