• Industrial park stands out for its local and international leadership 

 Alajuela, October 10, 2024. Coyol Free Zone reaffirms its leadership by receiving, for the fourth consecutive year, the award as the Best Free Trade Zone in the Americas in the Industrial category. 

The award, granted by the renowned international magazine fDi Magazine, highlights the work of the industrial park, placing it in fourth place in the Top 10 Free Trade Zones in the World and recognizing it as the Most Sustainable Free Trade Zone in the Americas. 

 fDi Magazine is part of fDi Intelligence, a global authority on Foreign Direct Investment and economic analysis, aimed at multinational companies and executives with decision-making capacity, as well as companies interested in expanding their operations or investing.  

Coyol Free Zone is the leading medical device export park in Costa Rica, with exports of over US$2 billion per year, which is equivalent to 30% of the exports of the Free Trade Zone Regime Manufacturing segment of the country. In addition, during the first half of this year, it achieved new investments and expansions of companies previously based in the Park, amounting to close to US$80 million.  

 “Undoubtedly, the efforts to attract investment, promote re-investment and provide a world-class business ecosystem have yielded great results for Coyol Free Zone and Costa Rica. These international recognitions reaffirm our capacity to continue leading at the highest level, in addition to generating great benefits to the national economy through high value-added exports, productive linkages, and the constant creation of quality jobs”, assured Carlos Wong, Managing Director of CODE Development Group, co-developer of Coyol Free Zone. 

Throughout its 17-year history, this industrial park has maintained a firm commitment to sustainability by implementing multiple initiatives that guarantee the successful development of its projects, both in the construction and operational processes, always in harmony with the environment.  

For example, Coyol Free Zone has almost 100,000 square meters of buildings constructed and certified under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, which evaluate key factors such as energy consumption, water management, alternative energy, indoor environmental quality, choice of materials, and waste management during construction. 

In addition, it is the first Free Trade Zone in Costa Rica with an ISO 9001-2015 certification for Construction Project Management. 

A proven track record 

Coyol Free Zone is home to the operations of 34 companies, 7 of which are listed in the Global Top 30 Medical Device companies. 

It also stands out as the main hub for the Life Sciences and Smart Manufacturing industry in Costa Rica, as well as an important generator of economic and social development opportunities for communities near the province of Alajuela, by promoting the creation of direct formal and quality employment for more than 24,000 employees. 

In May of this year, this Free Trade Zone also received recognition from the Global Alliance of Special Economic Zones (GASEZ), as one of 50 Model Free Trade Zones in Sustainability. 

In 2023, The European Global Awards, published by Thompson Reuters, awarded Coyol Free Zone as the Best Free Zone in Latin America for the fourth consecutive year. It was also named Most Innovative Free Zone in Latin America and Best Life Science and Advanced Manufacturing Business Center in Latin America.