Francisco Obando

Director

Profile

Francisco is the Director of BLP in the San José, Costa Rica office. He has over 18 years of experience specializing in Public Law, Administrative Contracting & Economic Regulation, Energy & Infrastructure, and Telecommunications, Media & Technology.

As a specialist in Public Law, he has provided direct legal counsel for successful projects related to Public Infrastructure (including road and airport projects). Notably, he served as the legal director for the Manager in charge of executing the Interested Management Contract for the Juan Santamaría International Airport, offering legal advice on the Manager’s relationship with the government of Costa Rica (Technical Council of Civil Aviation and the Contract Supervisory Body), as well as with the Regulatory Authority for Public Services and the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic. Additionally, he played a key role in the financing for the airport’s expansion in 2011, with funds from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

  • Public Law, Public Procurement & Regulation
  • Energy& Infrastructure
  • Telecommunications, Media and Technology

Education

  • Diploma in Economic Regulation and Competition, Universidad de Valladolid, Spain, 2016
  • Diploma in Business Administration for Lawyers, INCAE Business School, Costa Rica, 2012
  • Specialization in Regulation in Telecommunications, Universidad para la Cooperación Internacional, 2010
  • Master in Public Law, Universida de Costa Rica, 2009
  • Law degree with honors, Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica, 2003

Languages

  • Spanish
  • English

  • Costa Rica Bar Association
  • Ibero-American Association for Regulation Studies

  • Permanent legal advisor to Globalvia on all matters related to the Concession Contract for Route 27 San José-Caldera, the country’s flagship road infrastructure project. Legal advice specialized in Public Law includes attention to administrative claims and administrative procedures before the National Concessions Council, arbitrations, and contentious administrative processes.
  • The first issuance of international and local bonds for infrastructure financing in Costa Rica. The BLP team advised Autopistas del Sol, a subsidiary of Globalvía, on issuing senior secured notes in international markets for $300 million and $50.75 million within local markets, the first time an infrastructure company has issued international and local bonds simultaneously in Costa Rica.
  • Cementos Progreso is expanding its presence in Central America. BLP has advised Cementos Progreso Holdings, S.L. on the $335 million acquisition of assets from Cemex, S.A.B of C.V. in Costa Rica and El Salvador. The acquisition includes a cement plant, a cement mill, various ready-mix concrete plants, an aggregates quarry, and distribution centers in Costa Rica and El Salvador. The transaction bolsters Cementos Progreso’s expansion in Central America, consolidating operations in seven countries.
  • Infrastructure project financing and development BLP is public law counsel to The Central American Bank for Economic Integration – CABEI- (BCIE in Spanish) in a contract with the Costa Rica Government for financing, procurement, construction, lease, and transfer of government buildings.
  • BLP represents GRUMA DEMASA in a Sanction before the national competition authority; this is a much-followed case in the country.
  • Historical intervention in Costa Rica. As part of the BLP team, Francisco acted as expert legal advisor to the audit board of the National Institute for the Promotion of Cooperatives (INFOCOOP), being one of the only two such interventions in CR’s history.