The binational bridge over the Sixaola River on the border between Costa Rica and Panama consists of 2 lanes with a length of 260 meters and a width of 16.4 meters, including lanes for pedestrians and bike paths.

This work, inaugurated in 2021, connects a total of 15,000 inhabitants of the neighboring towns of Guabito and Sixaola in the border area, where there is a high presence of indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and migrant populations related to the banana industry, all of whom have economic and social development indicators well below the national averages.

Role of UNOPS

The agency was responsible for the management, administration, supervision, and execution of the project, which included the study, design, and construction of the binational bridge.

​Background

The Government of the Republic of Panama and the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica signed a cooperation agreement for border development on May 3, 1992, along with its annex, which was ratified by Costa Rica through Law No. 7518 on July 10, 1995. The objective of this Agreement was to expand, improve, and deepen cooperation relations in all fields, to significantly contribute to the social, economic, commercial, environmental, and political development and improvement of the border region; and to strengthen the integration process between both countries, for which pre-investment, investment, and technical assistance programs, projects, or activities will be executed in the border region in the various development sectors.

The Republic of Costa Rica and the Republic of Panama, under the modality of note exchange, entrusted the management of the work to UNOPS.

​

Beneficiaries

The new binational bridge over the Sixaola River on the border between Costa Rica and Panama substantially contributes to the brotherhood between the peoples of Costa Rica and Panama.

This work drives great local development opportunities in the border communities of Talamanca and Guabito and has a substantial impact on trade and the movement of people at this border point. More than 16,000 people benefit directly by having their place of residence nearby. Each year, about 152,000 people cross this border post.