real estate

Colamarco defends land deals on coastal belt

The ministro de Obras Públicas said the deals will help the government avoid potential lawsuits.

But many have expressed concern that the government is giving up too much in the deal.

Ana Rentería/LA PRENSA

under fire:Ministro de Obras Públicas, Benjamín Colamarco, has come under fire for proposing to give away land on the coastal belt project to two private enterprises.1016158

Saying it is better to have a bad agreement than a good lawsuit, ministro de Obras Públicas, Benjamín Colamarco, defended his decision to propose granting a lucrative piece of land to the Club de Yates y Pesca in the coastal belt project.

Colamarco appeared before the Asamblea Nacional's Comisión de Obras Públicas yesterday to discuss land deals being considered with the yacht club and the Intercontinental Miramar hotel, which are both located in the midst of the coastal belt project.

Both entities have a similar complaint – that the coastal belt project that will expand Avenida Balboa will harm their businesses. And both are seeking large swaths of land that will be created by the project.

But both entities have also received sweetheart deals from the government that allowed them to locate between the Bahía de Panama and Avenida Balboa in the first place.

They both pay pennies per square meter for seabed leases in the bay. In the case of the yacht club, the civil chamber of the Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the it should return 1.8 hectares of land and seabed to the government. There is no evidence, however, that this was ever done.

Colamarco has defended the decision by claiming that if the government is sued over the project, it could tie it up for years.

There is ample evidence, however, that the government would be able to defend itself against any legal action.

The yacht club is on shaky ground because of the sketchy circumstances that led to its being granted the initial concession in 1959. The club was intitially granted less than a hectare, and then received a concession of 2 hectares from the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP). The club then, according to court documents, took over another 1.8 hectares.

The coastal belt project will mean that the club will lose its building, and it wants three hectares on the coastal belt to make up for the loss of its land.

The club's concession from AMP, however, expires in 2017. The agency may also terminate the contract "for reasons of public interest."

The Miramar hotel is seeking land to build a parking lot. It is making its claim based on the argument that the coastal belt project will hurt its business.

But the hotel may have difficulty making any improvements to its property as Alcaldía has denied its request to erect another building on the site. The hotel will not need the additional parking if that structure is not built.