- International Container Terminal Services, Inc. welcomes the admission by Costa Rica’s state oversight body of its appeal for a review of a series of possible irregularities in the award process for the Puerto Caldera port terminal modernization
- The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic admitted on May 12 the two appeals filed by ICTSI, which was excluded from the tender process for the Puerto Caldera port terminal modernization project
- CGR said ICTSI’s appeals are based on two main points: the alleged improper disqualification of ICTSI’s offer and the alleged lack of technical suitability of the proposal awarded to the Sunset Consortium
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) welcomes the admission by Costa Rica’s state oversight body of its appeal for a review of a series of possible irregularities in the award process for the Puerto Caldera port terminal modernization.
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR), in a notice posted on May 12, admitted the two appeals filed by ICTSI, which was excluded from the tender process for the Puerto Caldera port terminal modernization project.
“The appeals filed are hereby admitted for processing, and a hearing is granted for the non-extendable period of five business days counted from the day following notification of this order, to the administration and the awarded party so that they may submit in writing whatever they deem appropriate regarding the allegations raised by the appellant company in its appeal filings, and likewise provide or offer the evidence they consider relevant,” CGR said in a statement on May 12.
CGR said ICTSI’s appeals are based on two main points: the alleged improper disqualification of ICTSI’s offer and the alleged lack of technical suitability of the proposal awarded to the Sunset Consortium, which emerged as the sole qualified bidder for the Puerto Caldera modernization project. Sunset Consortium comprises APM Terminals B.V. and HGT Inversiones Costa Rica S.A.
ICTSI Business Development (Americas) director Bart Wiersum, in a separate statement, said “We welcome the CGR’s decision as a first step toward correcting a process plagued by irregularities and lack of transparency.”
On October 30, 2024, the Costa Rican Institute of Pacific Ports (INCOP), the autonomous government entity overseeing Costa Rica’s ports on the Pacific coast, announced the publication of the bidding terms for the Infrastructure and Equipment Modernization Project for Puerto Caldera, the main port on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.
On February 14, 2026, the economic offer of sole bidder Sunset Consortium was accepted, and on March 10, the INCOP Board of Directors approved the recommendation to award the project to the Sunset Consortium.
ICTSI said on February 18, 2026, INCOP, “without properly substantiating its criteria, excluded ICTSI merely stating that it exceeded the maximum Debt-to-Equity ratio established in the tender specifications, despite the fact that one week earlier the same entity had confirmed that ICTSI complied with this requirement.”
ICTSI said its exclusion resulted in the process continuing with the sole participation of the Sunset Consortium, which was ultimately awarded the contract.
The port operator in its appeals before the CGR reported that the process presents “serious transparency deficiencies.”
During the evaluation stage, ICTSI said the Evaluation Committee modified the methodology for calculating the debt-to-equity ratio without documented technical justification, causing ICTSI’s indicator to shift from 1.33 (compliant) to 2.16 (non-compliant), even though the financial information submitted remained unchanged. Added to this are allegations made by former congressman Eli Feinzaig: more than 60% of the Sunset Consortium’s financial information is illegible in the case file, preventing independent verification of how compliance with the same requirement was validated for the awarded bidder.
ICTSI said independent port engineering experts have also identified substantial issues that the Evaluation Committee failed to detect: the configuration of the new docks does not comply with the international safety regulations required by the tender specifications for the simultaneous operation of vessels, and the actual dock availability times, due to weather and wave conditions, would be far below those indicated by Sunset, compromising the service levels required by the tender.
Moreover, the formation of the Sunset Consortium, composed of two competitors with the capacity to participate separately, could constitute an absolute monopolistic practice. The matter was also included in the appeal before the CGR, showing that INCOP failed to comply with its legal duty to inform Costa Rica’s anti-trust authority COPROCOM about these indications.
On the next steps in both proceedings, company attorney Víctor Mora explained: “The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic granted INCOP and the Sunset Consortium a hearing so they may respond to the facts contained in the appeal and must issue a ruling within forty business days, which may be extended by an additional fifteen business days. Regarding the preliminary investigation into possible violations of competition law, the competent authority must complete the investigation and proceed with the opening of the instruction phase should it so recommend.”
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