Tender

Costa Rica’s National Road Council (CONAVI) published International Request for Bids (RFB) No. CRI-2026-2341-34907-O to procure, on a turnkey basis, the design, construction, equipping, and maintenance of the San José–San Ramón Highway Corridor Expansion and Improvement Project.

The project will be partially financed by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), with additional funding from the OPEC Fund for International Development.

The project involves expanding and modernizing the highway corridor, including the General Cañas Highway, the Bernardo Soto Highway (National Route No. 1), and the Río Segundo Radial Road (National Route No. 147), with the objective of maintaining a minimum Level of Service (LOS) of “C” throughout the infrastructure’s entire life cycle.

The procurement will be carried out under a comprehensive responsibility or turnkey arrangement. The contractor will be responsible for the entire project, from preparing the final design to completing the construction works and commissioning the infrastructure.

Budget and Contract term

The project is divided into two procurement lots comprising seven functional units, allowing bidders to submit proposals for either or both lots. The available budget totals approximately US $687.4 million, allocated between the two procurement lots as follows:

• Lot 1: US $324.5 million.
• Lot 2: US $362.9 million.

The anticipated contract term is 72 months, including:

• 12 months for design.
• 48 months for construction and equipment installation.
• 12 months for defect correction.

Maintenance must be performed throughout the entire contract term.

Key bidder requirements

The tender is open to domestic and international companies, as well as joint ventures, consortia, or joint venture associations (APCAs) comprising up to three members.

Key requirements include:

• Meeting the eligibility criteria established by CABEI.
• Not being included on international sanctions lists recognized by CABEI.
• Demonstrating financial soundness and the capacity to execute large-scale projects.
• Demonstrating at least 15 years of general experience in transportation infrastructure.
• Having successfully completed at least three similar contracts involving highway expansion or construction, with two lanes in each direction and a minimum length of 15 kilometers per project.
• Providing specialized management personnel with extensive experience in complex road infrastructure projects.
• Incorporating accelerated construction methodologies, Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools, performance management systems, traffic management plans, and operational resilience solutions.

Tender schedule