3. PROJECT PRESELECTION APPRAISAL AND RESULTS

The execution of the study was officially started on October 15, 2001.

After the initial planning and contracting procedures, a team consisting of two archaeologists, a pre-hispanic monuments restoration expert, an anthropologist, a tourism development specialist and the Study Coordinator undertook a land visit to each project site and initial contacts with the relevant authorities, during a total time of seven weeks.

A report on the results, which included several suggestions of changes on the initially selected projects, was presented during a two day workshop held in Guatemala City at the end of January, 2002.

These changes also led to a clearer definition of the tourism circuit concept and its integration to the different projects, an analysis that led to a more precise definition of location factors.

All of this led to an agreement with the five governments, represented at the workshop by executives of the tourism and archaeology agencies.

These first results allowed the Study Coordinator to produce a final plan and organization of the team as well as of the full execution of the study, allowing the preparation of an organization of the projects under components and subcomponents.

4. PROJECT DESIGN PHASE

This phase started in May, 2002 with the arrival of the French and Mexican engineering and architectural concept consultants.

Another 9 week field work in all of the project areas was undertaken, to gather all necessary technical information. This was followed by an intense and lengthy design and report writing in the APESA main offices, which lasted until December, 2002 .

The engineering part or access roads, airport design, water and sewage was undertaken by the BCEOM-APESA technical team. Archaeological restoration design was performed by an APESA team of architects, GIS and Autocad specialists who also prepared aerial photography based mapping of the projects and the region.Visitor centers design was the responsability of the mexican world reknown Architect Agustín Hernández Navarro and the guatemalan firm Arquitectos Juárez & Urruela, S.A.