Costa Rica: New Free-Zone Inaugurated in Costa Rica

New Free-Zone Inaugurated in Costa Rica: "Zeta Group yesterday inaugurated construction of a free-zone in Cartago, east of San José, that it expects to attract close to $60 million in investment and create thousands of jobs.

This new free-zone, called Techno Park, is an expansion of the Cartago Industrial Park, and sits alongside garment manufacturers such as Hanes and Levi Straus. Techno Park seeks to attract call centers, technical support centers and other computer and communications businesses that focus on service, reflecting the economy's continuing move away from manufacturing investment in favor of service, vending, and assembly businesses, according to Zeta Group vice-president Cesar Zingone.

“The tendency of the country is toward more specialized labor,” Zingone said. “We're responding to that.”

Techno Park has already attracted $4 million in investment. Zeta Group expects the 15-hectare plot to host 25 companies, with a total of 100,000 square meters of building space, and eventually attract $60 million in investment.

The project will generate 5,000 jobs in the short term, Zingone said, and could employ 8,000 to 9,000 workers within five years, depending on the performance of the economy."

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