Hacienda Matapalo, the most sought after gated community on Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast, has everything in line to move forward with its project as it transitions from its pre-construction to construction phase.
When the master planned development announced in October it would resume its infrastructure construction as the rains subsided, it did so with the knowledge that all their documentation was in order.
“In addition to waiting for the seasonal rains to subside, we had to make sure all of our permits were in order,” explained Hacienda Matapalo Executive Vice President Brian Albury. “Now that the ground can support the weight of heavy equipment and our Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) has been approved by the government, we can proceed as planned.”
Because of the strict environmental and ecological protections that are in place in Costa Rica, in order for any master planned development to begin construction, their ESI must be approved. Once approved, construction permits such as D-1s and D-2s are given. An ESI is a composite index that tracks 21 elements of environmental sustainability covering natural resource endowments, past and present pollution levels, environmental management efforts, contributions to protecting common environmental resources and a capacity to improve environmental performance over time.
For Hacienda Matapalo its D-1 and D-2 – environmental evaluations permits for individual construction projects inside a master plan – were approved after being submitted to SETENA (Secretaria Tecnica Nacional Ambiental) according to the procedures that are outlined in the Manual of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Costa Rica.
“This is an exciting time for us,” Albury noted, as he reflected on the long and drawn out process to achieve government compliance on a project of this magnitude. “As the first of several large machines have already begun to appear on the property to work on the infrastructure, we can finally see the realization of our planning coming to fruition.”
To learn more about Hacienda Matapalo, which has been committed to ensuring the ecological impact it will have will be minimal, visit http://www.haciendamatapalo.com.
