Said activities must be governed by the simplified procedure established by SETENA.
Natural or legal persons who own tourist docks that were built prior to 2006 or that are in operation under documents granted by State institutions may initiate or continue the process for granting a concession and the respective operating permit, in accordance with the simplified procedure that will allow them to bring the facilities into compliance under the Law on Concession and Operation of Tourist Marinas and Docks, Law No. 7744 of December 19, 1997 and its amendments (hereinafter Law 7744), by completing the consultations and procedures before the CIMAT and the administrative body of the territory it occupies.
In order to guarantee comfortable and safe facilities for tourists, the CIMAT, through the initial consultation, shall inform all those owners of facilities that were registered in the survey conducted in 2006 of the necessary technical and legal aspects they must present in the technical feasibility stage, which incorporates an improvement plan to be executed once the concession is obtained.
In the Initial consultation, the CIMAT shall coordinate a visit with the interested parties in order to explain to them the procedures to follow for the legalization of the dock. The initial consultation request form shall be filled out and signed according to the form provided and guided by the CIMAT. For this procedure, it shall have a period of 20 business days, indicating the technical aspects that the interested party must present as part of the dock improvement plan.
Once the Initial Consultation is resolved, the interested party must submit the following documentation to the CIMAT in order to obtain the technical feasibility of the dock:
A. Formal application form signed by the interested party. In the event that the applicant is a legal entity, its legal capacity shall be verified by the Administration.
B. Documents and plans of the dock.
B.1 Detailed description of the existing dock, making reference to the facilities, services provided, and number and type of vessels.
B.2 Improvement plan that includes an execution schedule for the works and corresponding procedures, with the time periods for each of them.
B.3 Geographic location of the existing dock, on a cartographic sheet from the Instituto Geográfico Nacional at a scale of 1:50,000 and its indication in official coordinates.
B.4 A set of plans, signed by a responsible professional registered with the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos, where all existing works are located, described, and clearly detailed, both in the water zone (works for docking and mooring of vessels) and on land (public access, parking area, sanitary facility for public use, wastewater and solid waste treatment system, launching and hauling means, any other existing building). In addition, any work contemplated in the Improvement Plan.
B.5 Survey plan of the area to be requested in concession, as requested by the Subdirección Catastral of the Registro Inmobiliario.
B.6 Indicate if there is availability of electrical energy, which shall be verified by the Administration with the institution responsible for supplying the service in the area.
B.7 Indicate if there is availability of potable water, which shall be verified by the Administration with the institution responsible for supplying the service in the area.
B.8 The Administration shall verify with the Programa Marino Costero of SINAC that no coral ecosystems exist within the area to be requested in concession.
B.9 Sworn Declaration of the value of the existing and new works cited in the improvement plan.
C. Environmental Feasibility through the submission of the Diagnostic Environmental Study Instrument (Estudio de Diagnóstico Ambiental, EDA) with the requirements established in articles 4 through 8 and Annex I of the "Regulation for environmental diagnostic studies (EDA) and reform to article 81 of the Regulation to the Biodiversity Law, Executive Decree No. 34433-MINAE, of March 11, 2008"; Executive Decree No. 42837 of January 22, 2021, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 52 of March 16, 2021. According to the "Regulation for the operation and use of the digital platform for procedures and processes of the National Environmental Technical Secretariat and the Directorate of Geology and Mines," Executive Decree No. 41664 of March 8, 2019, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 110 of June 13, 2019, Scope 132, the submission of instruments before this Secretariat must be in digital format, and signed by the developer (proposer) and the environmental consultant, for which the SETENA digital case file platform must be accessed: https://tramites.setena.go.cr/ D. Photographic record of the existing facilities.
The interested party must submit the documents in digital PDF format to the email address: [email protected] The CIMAT shall verify that the interested party is up to date in the payment of employer worker contributions to the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social, FODESAF, and the payment of taxes to Legal Entities. Likewise, it shall conduct consultations to determine if the area under concession request is located in State Natural Heritage areas (Patrimonio Natural del Estado).
In the event that the application is for the legalization of a dock located in navigable lakes, rivers, canals, and reservoirs, the CIMAT must coordinate with the administrative body of the same and shall inform the interested party of the results obtained.
The CIMAT shall have a period of thirty business days, extendable for an equal period only once, counted from the day following the receipt of all the required documents, to approve or reject, in an obligatory, express, and reasoned manner, the Technical Feasibility application being processed.
Within the first fifteen business days, the Technical Unit of the CIMAT may request clarifications and additions that it deems technically necessary with their respective justification.
For this, the interested party shall have a period of fifteen business days, extendable for an equal period only once, to fulfill the CIMAT requirements. Once these are presented, as requested, and environmental feasibility is obtained according to the simplified procedure established by SETENA, the Executive Directorate shall elevate the case to the Board of Directors for acknowledgment and approval of the Technical Feasibility of the dock. The CIMAT shall have the remaining period to notify the resolution to the interested party at the designated means.
For the granting and registration of the concession contract, upon notification of the administrative resolution regarding the favorable Technical Feasibility from the CIMAT, the interested party must submit to the respective Authority, as applicable, the concession application for the dock along with all the requirements listed in subsections a) and b) of article 8 of Law 7744.
For the processing of the concession contract, the procedure established in Chapter IV, Section III, Concession Processing, articles 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, and 41; as well as Section IV, Concession Contract, article 42, all of the Regulation to Law 7744, must be followed.
For the approval of construction plans (visado planos constructivos), once the concession has been granted and registered, in the event that the CIMAT Resolution so indicates, the concessionaire shall have the established period to submit to the CIMAT the documents for the plan approval process for the existing works and those defined within the improvement plan, as established in article 53 of the Regulation.
In the event that legalization of the facilities is not chosen, the CIMAT must inform the respective Municipality and the Ministry of Health, so that the corresponding sanitary permits and operating licenses may be revoked.
(As added by Article 2 of Executive Decree No. 43751 of October 4, 2022)
"GUIDE FOR THE PRESENTATION OF THE ECONOMIC PROFILE" FIRST STAGE (TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY) At this stage, the applicant must submit the following in order to receive the technical feasibility of the project from the CIMAT:
- a)Economic Profile signed by a professional in Economic Sciences registered with the respective Professional Association, containing:
i. Detailed description of the project.
Description of the services to be provided, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Concession and Operation of Tourist Marinas and Docks, Law No. 7744 of December 19, 1997 and its amendments (Example: shelter structures, number of mooring and docking slips, number of dry dock positions, launching and hauling area, fuel and lubricant stations, vehicle parking), Commercial buildings (restaurants, sale of fishing items, handicrafts, tourist lodging (according to the Regulation for Tourist Lodging Companies), theaters), administrative areas, warehouses, reception, lobby, employee area, and various facilities and services. The description of differentiating aspects considered important for publicizing the tourist product that the marina project will offer may be included (Example: If real estate and tourist development is contemplated in the constructions and services).
ii. Market study (preliminary analysis).
Carry out an analysis of the number and type of existing companies in the market (General and direct competition in accordance with the Planning Unit where the establishment or project is or will be located) that offer services similar to those that the Tourist Marina or Dock will offer, services they offer, rates, and the service differences that the project will offer compared to existing ones. The following aspects must be considered:
ii a) Existing vessels, currently, in the area of influence of the future facility that do not have a fixed mooring slip. These are usually, for the most part, motor vessels that, due to their small size, are hauled ashore during periods of non-use.
ii b) Existing vessels currently based in other facilities located outside the sector of influence of the future project that may change their docking slip due to different reasons, such as proximity to their place of residence, quality of services, etc.
ii c) Vessels that will be generated in the future by the normal growth of the fleet in the zone and that will correspond with factors such as population growth, variation in per capita income, revaluation of the coastline, etc.
ii d) Vessels generated by the very existence of the facility and derived from greater convenience in vessel maintenance and growth in nautical enthusiasm in the area.
ii e) Transiting vessels based in other national or foreign facilities.
iii. Investment structure.
The value of the investment must be estimated, taking into consideration the cost of land (If owned by the company (private property)), construction cost, value of vessels, equipment, pre-operating expenses, vehicles, working capital, contingencies, and in general, all items directly related to the investment proposal must be considered. The respective budgets must be prepared, especially for the quantification of the items: Constructions, equipment, pre-operating expenses.
iv. Financing sources.
Financing Structure: Identification of the sources of financial resources that will make the investment possible. If financing sources are contemplated, the corresponding amortization and interest tables must be provided (Indicate credit conditions: Term, grace period, interest rate).
- b)Certification issued by an authorized public accountant regarding the financial capacity of the Company.
SECOND STAGE. (TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY.)
At this stage, the applicant must submit a readjustment for the finalization of the economic profile approved in the technical feasibility stage for the granting of the concession, including:
- a)Market study (definitive analysis) Carry out an analysis of the number and type of existing companies in the general and direct competition market (in accordance with the Planning Unit where the establishment or project is or will be located) that offer services similar to those that the Marina or the Tourist Dock will offer, taking into consideration aspects such as customer profile, services they offer, rates, and the service differences that the project will offer compared to existing ones. Determine the possible tourist market segments that will use the facilities to be offered by the marina, identifying the profile of the demand to be captured (Place of residence or origin, type of vessel, income level, and length of stay).
Likewise, "market segmentation variables" must be taken into consideration, according to the project. (Example: Number of existing tourists in the market, Competitive offer, Average length of stay, Average spending level, among others.)
Documentary evidence of the national and international commercial contacts that the company has.
- b)A detailed budget and projected cash flow The composition of the cost of the items contemplated in the investment structure (Balance Sheet) must be explained and detailed, such as: Land, construction cost, value of vessels, equipment, pre-operating expenses, vehicles, working capital, contingencies, and in general, all items directly related to the investment proposal. The respective budgets must be prepared, especially for the quantification of the items: Constructions, equipment, pre-operating expenses.
The bases of calculations for the financial projections must be clearly explained, regarding income items (Methodology and calculation variables, according to the services to be provided, rate calculation, seasonality, occupancy levels, exchange rate, among other variables considered in the income calculation) and expenses (Methodology and calculation variables for the items) (Example: Salaries, Wages, and social charges), operational and administrative expenses (Costs related to the provision of services), public utility expenses, maintenance, stationery, cleaning expenses, professional services, subscriptions, transportation, fuels, insurance, commissions, depreciation, municipal taxes, credit card service payments, and in general, all direct and indirect expenses directly related to the provision of services (financial expenses).
Quantification of direct employment generation: Positions must be detailed, and "tables" for calculating salaries and social charges must be prepared.
Financing Structure: Identification of the sources of financial resources that will make the investment possible. If financing sources are contemplated, the corresponding amortization and interest tables must be provided (Indicate credit conditions: Term, grace period, interest rate).
Preparation of the Cash Flow (with explanatory notes of the applied financial and economic assumptions) All financial information must be presented in colones.
- c)Work execution schedule signed by the responsible professional for the work, duly registered with the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos CFIA, as well as by the representative and legal agent of the company, or by the natural person who owns the project.
- d)Demonstrate the financial capacity to develop the project, by means of a letter of intent for the granting of credit issued by the financial entity, public or private, participating in the financing of the work, indicating the amount, interest rate, term, and grace period. In the case of own resources, through audited statements of the investing entity.
- e)Simple sworn declaration that it will have trained personnel to operate.
For the second stage, the economic profile is delivered in an integral manner, which must contemplate the aspects provided in the first stage and the new requirements of the second, in such a way that the economic profile to process the concession must comply with the following aspects:
- f)Economic Profile signed by a professional in Economic Sciences registered with the respective Professional Association, containing:
i. Detailed description of the project.
ii. Market study (preliminary analysis) iii. Investment structure.
iv. Financing sources.
v. Detailed budget and projected cash flow vi. Work execution schedule signed by the responsible professional for the work.
- g)Demonstrate the financial capacity to develop the project, by means of a letter of intent for the granting of credit issued by the financial entity, public or private, participating in the financing of the work, indicating the amount, interest rate, term, and grace period. In the case of own resources, through audited statements of the investing entity.
- h)Simple sworn declaration, subscribed by the general agent of the company, in which it is declared that it will have trained personnel to operate the granted concession.
(As added by Article 2 of Executive Decree No. 43751 of October 4, 2022)
INITIAL CONSULTATION REQUEST EXISTING DOCKS TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY REQUEST EXISTING DOCKS CONSTRUCTION PLANS REQUEST EXISTING DOCKS (As added by Article 2 of Executive Decree No. 43751 of October 4, 2022)