Hidden costs of beach pipe dream

The initiative to condition an artificial beach in the coastal strip advances. The Municipality of Panama is about to award the contract to prepare the category 3 environmental impact study, which would identify the ecological risks of the project and its mitigation measures. According to the declarations of the capital’s mayor, the work would cost citizens about $120 million. To undertake an initiative of this scale, the economic feasibility of the project must be studied, and perhaps even a simple exercise of prioritization of municipal expenditure, to determine whether an artificial beach is more suitable than multiple kindergartens, community cultural centers or sports facilities in the most vulnerable areas of the capital district. There are more pressing needs in the city, that could be solved with a fraction of the cost of this pharaonic project. In addition, it would be good to know if the mayor has taken into account the cost of maintaining that beach, since they are usually very vulnerable to erosion, rain and, of course, climate change. A bit of unbiased analysis can avoid a great waste – LA PRENSA, Nov 4, 2019