Municipalidad de Upala

What Municipalidad de Upala does

Municipalidad de Upala is the legally constituted local government of Upala canton, the thirteenth canton of Alajuela province in Costa Rica's Zona Norte, created by Law No. 4541 on March 17, 1970. The municipality administers public services across eight districts covering approximately 1,580.67 km² for the canton's residents and businesses. Its service portfolio includes local tax collection, water supply (acueductos), solid waste collection, road infrastructure maintenance via the Unidad Técnica de Gestión Vial, urban development and construction permits, business licensing (patentes), cadastral and real estate services, environmental management, library services, and a municipal scholarship program. The 2024-2028 administration is led by Mayor Aura Yamileth López Obregón, supported by two vice-mayors and an elected Municipal Council.

The municipality operates a portal-based delivery model that combines online digital services with physical walk-in service at its headquarters (75 meters east of the Parque Central in Upala). Its technology stack is limited but functional: an ArcGIS-powered Geoportal for territorial planning and spatial data visualization, and an online payment processing system integrated with Banco Nacional de Costa Rica supporting VISA and MASTERCARD transactions in colones or dollars. A transparency platform provides public access to meeting minutes (actas), financial statements, and regulations. Marketing and citizen engagement channels include the official website, YouTube live-streamed council sessions, public hearings, and local press releases.

The revenue model is structurally a tax-and-fee public administration. Own-source revenue is generated through property taxes, business patents, construction permits, water service charges, waste collection fees, and cadastral-related levies, governed by the Ley de impuestos municipales del cantón de Upala (Gaceta 182, 26/09/1990). This own-source income is supplemented by central government transfers and project-specific financing from governmental institutions such as IFAM — including a ₡2,000 million financing approved for the acquisition of heavy machinery for road maintenance. The municipality operates as a non-commercial government entity, is not subject to equity markets, and reports financial information through Gaceta publications and rendición de cuentas rather than conventional revenue metrics.

Name

Municipalidad de Upala

Legal name

Municipalidad de Upala

Website

https://muniupala.go.cr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Municipalidad de Upala is the local government of Upala canton in Costa Rica, providing tax collection, water supply, waste management, road infrastructure, urban planning, and business licensing services to residents and businesses across the canton's eight districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Government Services

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241), Administration of Housing Programs (925110)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAIACAA

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYBPAIACAF

Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYBPAIACAD

Municipal Tax & Revenue Administration (Local)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYBPAIACAM

Local Transportation, Parking & Mobility Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYEUAIAAAF

Public Works / In-House Municipal Collection Operations

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Services (Waste Management, Recycling & Remediation)/Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Collection & Hauling

SECONDARYBPAIANAH

Land Administration & Cadastral Services (Public Land Records, Parcel Management)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Housing, Urban Planning & Community Development

Keywords

• Municipal tax collection
• Local government services
• Urban development permits
• Cadastral mapping services
• Public infrastructure management

Headquarters

HQ city

Upala

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Tax Collection: The municipality collects various local taxes, fees, and service charges from residents and businesses within the canton, including property taxes, business licenses, construction permits, and service fees for water, waste collection, and other municipal services.
2. Online Payment Processing: Electronic payment collection through Banco Nacional de Costa Rica for municipal taxes, rates, and services using debit/credit cards (VISA or MASTERCARD) in colones or dollars.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Municipalidad de Upala provides local government administration services to residents and businesses within the Upala canton, including tax collection, water service management, urban development permitting, business licensing, cadastral services, environmental management, road infrastructure maintenance, and public library services. It operates as the exclusive local regulatory and service authority for the canton under Costa Rican municipal law.

Product overview

Municipalidad de Upala provides a comprehensive suite of municipal services as Costa Rica's cantonal government. The municipality operates a portfolio of interconnected services including online payment processing for taxes and fees via Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, a Geoportal using ArcGIS for territorial planning, water supply services (Acueductos), urban development and control, business licensing (Patentes), library services, cadastral management, municipal planning, real estate services, environmental management, road infrastructure maintenance (UTGV), and solid waste collection. The service architecture is structured as a portal-based delivery model with both online digital services and physical in-person municipal offices, featuring accessibility tools including text-to-speech functionality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pagos en Línea (Online Payment Services) Online platform enabling citizens and businesses to pay municipal taxes, fees, and other obligations through authorized banking entities such as Banco Nacional de Costa Rica.
• Geoportal ArcGIS-based geographic information portal providing public access to cadastral maps and territorial data for the Upala canton, used by residents, property owners, and professionals needing land and property information.
• Acueductos y Alcantarillado (Water and Sewer Services) Local water supply and sewerage service operated by the municipal government for residents and businesses of the Upala canton.
• Desarrollo y Control Urbano (Urban Development and Control) Municipal department responsible for issuing construction permits, land-use permits, and overseeing compliance with urban development regulations within the canton.
• Patentes (Business Licenses) Municipal licensing service issuing and renewing operating licenses (patentes) required for businesses to operate legally within the Upala canton.
• Biblioteca Municipal (Municipal Library) Public municipal library service providing reading, study, and reference resources to residents of the Upala canton.
• Catastro (Cadastral Services) Municipal cadastral service maintaining official records of real estate parcels, ownership, and property boundaries within the Upala canton for use by property owners and notaries.
• Planificación Cantonal (Cantonal Planning) Municipal department responsible for cantonal development planning, regulatory plans, and long-term territorial planning for the Upala canton.
• Bienes Inmuebles (Real Estate Tax Services) Municipal department administering the real estate property tax (impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles) for properties within the canton.
• Gestión Ambiental (Environmental Management) Municipal department overseeing environmental management, regulation, and compliance within the Upala canton.
• Unidad Técnica de Gestión Vial (Road Management Unit) Municipal technical unit responsible for the maintenance and management of cantonal roads and related public infrastructure.
• Recolección de Residuos Sólidos (Solid Waste Collection) Municipal solid waste collection service providing regular garbage pickup to residents and businesses of the Upala canton.
• Plataforma de Transparencia Municipal (Municipal Transparency Platform) Public transparency platform providing access to municipal information, budgets, procedures, and accountability data for citizens.

Quantifiable outcome

• Municipal scholarships benefiting students at all educational levels
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Banco Nacional de Costa RicacoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic payment processing partnership enabling electronic collection of municipal taxes, rates, and services. The system supports debit and credit card payments (VISA, MASTERCARD) in colones or dollars through secure online platform, ensuring financial and electronic security standards.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Municipalidad de San José: Capital municipal government of Costa Rica operating the same cantonal administrative functions (taxation, urban planning, public works, permits, waste collection) — the most direct functional comparator at a larger scale.
• Municipalidad de Cartago: Provincial capital municipal government performing identical cantonal functions; useful as a benchmark for service maturity, digital adoption, and infrastructure investment levels relative to Upala.
• Municipalidad de Los Chiles: Border canton in the Zona Norte with comparable agricultural economy, dispersed population, and service-delivery challenges — directly comparable to Upala's structural context.
• Municipalidad de Heredia: Provincial capital municipality delivering the same core municipal service portfolio (taxation, cadastre, public works, permits, waste) under Costa Rican municipal law — a comparable operator at smaller-than-San-José scale.
• Municipalidad de San Carlos: Larger Zona Norte canton operating the same full suite of municipal services; useful as a same-region peer with more developed commercial and industrial activity to benchmark against.
• Municipalidad de Guatuso: Neighboring Zona Norte canton with a similar rural/agricultural profile and small-scale municipal operations — the closest geographic and demographic peer to Upala.
• Municipalidad de Liberia: Cantonal government in Guanacaste providing the same suite of municipal services to a similarly rural/agricultural population, making it a strong structural and operational peer to Upala.
• Municipalidad de Alajuela: Provincial capital municipal government in the same Alajuela province as Upala, providing identical categories of cantonal services (tax collection, water, waste, urban development, road maintenance) under the same Código Municipal framework.

Others

• Banco Nacional de Costa Rica: State-owned bank serving as Upala's strategic payment-processing partner for online municipal collections; an ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor, but materially relevant as the channel through which municipal revenue is collected.
• Instituto de Fomento y Asesoría Municipal (IFAM): Costa Rica's national municipal development and financing institution — not a peer in the operational sense but the core financial and technical partner that funds capital projects for cantonal governments including Upala.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@municipalidaddeupala
• Facebookfacebook.com/municipalidad.deupala
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/municipalidad-de-upala

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Municipalidad de Upala