Are foreign developers treated equally in Panama?
(primapanama.blogs.com) The ministry of environment is again under fire for alleged damage to the mangroves during the construction of a golf course at the new Santa Maria residential project between the airport and Costa Del Este. What I find surprising about this is, who would trust an approval by the ministry after the Red Frog debacle? After all, Red Frog too had the ministry approval for their project, but were shut down by a ruling of the Supreme court after millions were invested by the developer and home buyers.
But this time it will end differently. I doubt seriously if this project will be delayed because the investors/promoters behind it are some of the most powerful men in the country and they are Panamanian. That means they know the "right people" and will be able to work their way around the problem.
So, are foreign developers at a disadvantage? Absolutely! I have experienced this first hand and hear about the tales of woe from foreign developers trying to invest here regularly. It is not that the local developers hinder foreign developers, but their local knowledge and contacts help them avoid the legal problems that plague the foreigner who wrongly believes he will be treated equally under the law. I bring this up in the hope that Panamanians will begin to realize that treating investors differently under the law will cost them dearly in the end. Foreign investors don't invest where the playing field is not equal for all players. Panama developers will do well as long as foreign investors are doing well too. In the end, without foreign investment, Panama will go back to what it was doing before the development boom, which was not selling real estate.
Excerpts from La Prensa:
The (environmental) groups say that the ministry violated its own directive when it approved the zoning for the proposed Santa Maria Golf & Country Club. The project calls for the removal of 18.5 hectares of mangroves to make way for the golf course.
In 1980, the ministry identified the area as an “ecological reserve.” Twenty years later, an executive decree stipulated that the mangroves in Juan Díaz “should be preserved.”
The ministry apparently had a change of heart in January 2007, when it zoned the area to allow the construction of residences, the golf course and commercial buildings.
The project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) was approved by ANAM in February 2008.
