Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 3. Investing › Public works concessions and PPPs in Costa Rica: Ley 7762, private initiatives, the 20 percent equity rule and the 50 year cap

Public works concessions and PPPs in Costa Rica: Ley 7762, private initiatives, the 20 percent equity rule and the 50 year cap

Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

Ley 7762 governs public works concessions, works with public services, and since 2019 the optimisation of existing infrastructure assets, run through the Consejo Nacional de Concesiones or the granting entity. Private parties can propose projects and recover their study costs if someone else wins, consortia must form a single purpose Costa Rican sociedad anónima within 90 days with equity of at least 20 percent of projected spending, concessions last at most 50 years including construction, and disputes over money (but not sovereign powers) can go to arbitration at law.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar published for 29 October 2026 (indicator 318 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent. Amounts set in salarios base use the 2026 salario base of ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025 of the Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial, under Ley 7337 art. 2).

Key facts

Maximum concession term including construction and extensions	50 yearsLey 7762 art. 56 and 57, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Minimum initial share capital of the concession company	20 % of projected spendingLey 7762 art. 31(3), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Deadline to form the concession sociedad anónima after a final award	90 calendar daysLey 7762 art. 31(1), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Private initiative proposals allowed with cost recovery if not awarded	yes yes or noLey 7762 art. 20, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Sectors excluded from the concession law	telecommunications, electricity, health services textLey 7762 art. 2, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The law covers three contracts: public works concessions (design, planning, financing, building, upkeep, expansion or repair of a public asset paid by user charges or State payments), works with public service concessions (the same plus operating the asset and providing services), and optimisation of existing infrastructure assets, where the concessionaire operates, maintains or expands an existing public asset and pays the State an upfront and or deferred payment that can be built into tariffs. The concessionaire can be a public, private or mixed person.Ley 7762 art. 1 as amended by Ley 9701, art. 1, 2019-07-18 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Ley 9701 of 18 Jul 2019 added the optimisation of existing infrastructure assets contract and rules on investing the State's proceeds in new public works.

2. Any work and its operation may be concessioned where reasoned public interest exists, except telecommunications, electricity and health services. Railways, docks and international airports can be concessioned only under this law, and at Limón, Moín, Caldera and Puntarenas docks only new works or expansions. Works built belong to the granting administration as they are built, and concession assets cannot be sold or encumbered separately without its consent.Ley 7762 as amended by Ley 8643, art. 2 and 3, 2008-06-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Private parties may propose new concessions with technical, environmental and economic feasibility studies. If the administration finds the proposal feasible, in the public interest and in line with the National Development Plan, it tenders it; the proponent is pre qualified, competes on equal terms and, if it loses, the winner must reimburse its justified direct and study costs as set in the tender.Ley 7762 as amended by Ley 8643, art. 20, 2008-06-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. The Technical Secretariat of the Consejo Nacional de Concesiones prepares the tender, including the environmental study (MINAE has five business days to define the study and 15 to give a binding view on it) and consults ARESEP on the tariff structure and adjustment and quality parameters (binding view within ten business days); silence means no objection. The approved tender summary is published in La Gaceta and two national newspapers. The administration may charge the winner for the studies.
Cost to do it: Study costs set in the tender are paid by the winning bidder together with the performance guarantee.Ley 7762, art. 21 and 22, 1998-04-14 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Consortia may bid without forming a company, with joint and several liability, but the winner must form within 90 calendar days of a final award a Costa Rican sociedad anónima whose sole purpose is the concession, and remains liable with it for the whole term. A construction company partner may leave only if it holds under 49 percent, sells to another partner and construction has been accepted. Initial share capital must be at least 20 percent of total projected spending for construction and then operation, adjustable yearly.
Cost to do it: Equity of at least 20 percent of projected spending.
Example: A ₡45,482,000,000 toll road needs at least ₡9,096,400,000 of paid in capital in the concession company. / On a US$100,000,000 project, at least US$20,000,000 of equity.Ley 7762 as amended by Ley 8643, art. 27 and 31, 2008-06-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Bidders post a bid guarantee; the concessionaire then posts construction, operation and environmental guarantees in the form, amount and term set by the regulation and the tender, all irrevocable. The bid guarantee must be extended until signature, when the construction guarantee replaces it.Ley 7762 as amended by Ley 8643, art. 33, 2008-06-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Contracts may include alternative dispute resolution under the RAC law; arbitration must be at law, cannot cover the exercise of sovereign powers or public duties, but can cover the right to and amount of compensation for their exercise and disputes on the financial balance of the contract not subject to tariff adjustments.Ley 7762 as amended by Ley 8643, art. 39, 2008-06-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. The concessionaire and its subcontractors may receive, for the term set in the tender (never beyond the concession), exemptions from import duties, selective consumption tax and other taxes on goods incorporated into the work or directly needed to provide the services, and on equipment directly required, unless equivalent goods are available locally on equal price, quality and timing. The sales tax exemption in the original text was repealed by Ley 8114 of 2001 according to the SCIJ note.Ley 7762 art. 44 as amended by Ley 8643; Ley 8114 art. 17(l), art. 44(1) to (4), 2008-06-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. A concession lasts as long as the technical studies justify, but never more than 50 years including construction. It may be extended in the last third of its term for proven public interest with Contraloría authorisation, within the same 50 year cap.Ley 7762, art. 56 and 57, 1998-04-14 official text · verified 2026-10-29

10. Lenders recognised by the administration before an extinction event may take security over the concessionaire's rights to compensation, through the special pledge of the law or a trust; neither the administration nor the State is liable for the concessionaire's debts.Ley 7762 as amended by Ley 8643, art. 47 bis and 68, 2008-06-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Worked example

A consortium of a Spanish builder and a Costa Rican pension fund wins a ₡90,964,000,000 (US$200,000,000) port expansion. Within 90 calendar days of the final award it must form a Costa Rican S.A. with at least ₡18,192,800,000 (US$40,000,000) of capital; the builder can only exit after construction is accepted, if it holds under 49 percent and sells to a partner.

Step by step

Track the project pipeline of the Consejo Nacional de Concesiones and the granting entity; consider a private initiative proposal with full feasibility studies.
Read the tender for guarantees, study costs, tariff mechanism and tax benefits; object in time if needed.
Form the consortium agreement with joint and several liability and plan the S.A. and its 20 percent equity.
After award, form the S.A. within 90 days, post the construction and environmental guarantees and sign.
Have lenders formally recognised by the administration to protect their security.

Common traps

Electricity, telecoms and health cannot use this law at all.
The 50 year cap includes construction and every extension.
Arbitration cannot review sovereign decisions such as regulated tariff adjustments, only compensation.
The builder's exit is restricted until construction acceptance.
Do not assume VAT exemptions: the original sales tax exemption was repealed in 2001, so check the current position with Hacienda for each tender.

Sources

← Acquiring a Costa Rican company: COPROCOM merger control, share transfer formalities and deal traps from free zones and concessionsSelling to the Costa Rican State: Ley General de Contratación Pública, SICOP, 2026 thresholds, guarantees, appeals and debarment →

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