business & economy

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Business & Economy Briefs

Widening the road in Chorrera during a building boom in China

It seems as if the widening of the main drag through La Chorrera will never end, and it's no fun riding a bus to the Interior that detours off the autopista to go through that town in the middle of a weekday. The construction-related traffic jams are the first thing you'll notice.

But notice this as well. Worldwide, China's construction and industrial boom has increased the prices of scrap metal, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean public and private infrastructures are being dismantled and exported to China to provide metal for the Middle Kingdom's use. The process is often more properly described as "looting." The widening of the road through La Chorrera has meant the demolition of many a home or business, and that process has in turn prompted a boom in scrap metal, wherein all the metal rebar, appliances, fixtures, sewer grates and caps and other components are being snapped up legally or otherwise by owners, scavengers and thieves. A lot of the detritus from the demolition that precedes road building is thus being sold to suddenly appearing businesses like these.

Photo by Eric Jackson

US-RP free trade pact stalled
Torrijos to veto parts of controversial public transportation law
Lunchtime on Avenida Peru

Costa Rica holds CAFTA referendum
Chorrera demolishes, China builds
Business & Economy Briefs