Keeping Pace with demand
Investment in infrastructure is set to make the island a Caribbean hub

The Urban Train is the first of its kind in the Caribbean and will reduce road congestion.

The Calderón administration ranks the improvement of transport and infrastructure among its top priorities, as it seeks to consolidate its position as a hub in the Caribbean. This year alone, the government has allocated $2 billion in investment for infrastructure schemes to be distributed through public agencies covering transportation, housing and utilities.

A number of important transport projects are under way. These include the Strategic Highway System, to provide the whole island with a fast, modern road network, and the Urban Train Initiative, the construction of 17 miles of new track and 16 stations running right through downtown San Juan.

FERNANDO FAGUNDO Secretary of Transport & Public Works

Fernando Fagundo, Secretary of Transport and Public Works, describes the recent capital investment program in the infrastructure sector as “extraordinary”, with state agencies tapping innovative financing mechanisms to help fund development. Earlier in the year, the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority successfully launched a $1.47 billion bond, the biggest local government issue in recent years, to refinance and restructure existing debt.

Mr. Fagundo says the idea behind the Urban Train is the suburban concept in America, discouraging people from bringing their cars into the congested city center. “This is a heavy rail train costing $2.25 billion. It travels from Bayamon to Santurce and goes through the heart of the metropolitan area with 16 stations. We have never had a train of this type before.”

With the Strategic Highway System, Mr Fagundo says the aim is to unlock the development potential of some of the island’s most promising regions along the west coast, again taking some pressure off the capital. “Our objective is for the whole island of Puerto Rico to have an economic, efficient and safe mass-transit system, and then the car would be an alternative, not a necessity, like it is today.”

A number of major port and airport initiatives are also in progress that will bolster international links. Flagship projects include the development of the Port of the Americas, a giant transshipment hub in Ponce, capable of handling post-Panamax ships up to 12,000 TEUs.

An international port development firm is due to be appointed by the end of 2003 to manage the project. With value-added areas to be developed across a 1,000 acre free zone that will extend over three municipalities, it is expected to be operational in 2006.

The Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, site of the former U.S. Ramsey Air Force base, is also under development, and will help improve the island’s cargo and passenger capacity when it opens fully next year. This will take the strain off San Juan’s Muñoz Marin Airport. The new transport facilities will link up with the highway system now under construction.

Miguel Soto Lacourt, Executive Director of the Ports Authority, says these and other projects will help to reinforce Puerto Rico’s strategic and geographic advantages, both in terms of cargo and passenger traffic. With the arrival of private operators, like express courier services FedEx and UPS, and more and more cruise liners in the harbors, there is constant pressure from all sides to improve. Other facilities, including the main port and airport facilities in San Juan, are under ongoing improvement. “It is an evolution that pushes management and airports to change.”

A more sophisticated transport system will open the doors for more tourists, according to Mr. Lacourt. “We receive approximately 625 cruise ships every year. These ships are getting bigger in size. The infrastructure needed to manage this volume of passengers and activity is very different from that used 15 years ago.” Puerto Rico is staying one step ahead of demand.