Islands off Punta Pacifica

PANAMA. The Mexican company ICA estimates the construction of the Punta Pacifica islands will be completed in four to five years.

ICA , which owns the project will also be the buyer of the finished project which is being built by Grupo Los Pueblos says Diego Hernandez, ICA' General Manager.

The project consist of 19 hectares of landfills and a horizontal housing development, meaning no high rises but low height homes according to ICA.

The investment is estimated at $215 million and its construction is being executed by Grupo Los Pueblos.

According to ICA, dredging works will begin in September. Hernandez said the Punta Pacifica islands are part of the process of recovering the investment made on the Corredor Sur.

ICA invested $306.8 million on the Corredor Sur and it has not been able to recover it.

The contract signed with the Panamanian state has a duration of 30 years.

In a previous interview with La Estrella, Hernandez said solutions must be found for this issue because there are factors that have hindered ICA from recuperating its investment.

The concession contract for the Corredor Sur, points that what ICA can recover comprehends the total investment plus reasonable earnings.

The recovery of the $306.8 million includes the toll price and the net value of lots sold.

ICA representatives have said the the contract included a discount of future values applied to the discount rate.

They have added that increases in the toll prices (25 percent annually) established in 2003 and 2008 have not yet been applied,