By Zoila Palma: The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Canada are providing a landmark USD 27.53 million loan and grant package to modernise Belize’s electricity system through the Power VIII Project.
The nationwide Advanced Metering Infrastructure and Grid Modernisation Programme is being implemented by Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) and represents the largest financing CDB has extended to the utility, as well as its first unsecured, non-sovereign-guaranteed loan to BEL.
The financing includes a USD 24.2 million loan from CDB’s Ordinary Capital Resources and a USD 3 million loan from its Special Funds Resources under Canada’s Supporting Resilient and Green Energy (SuRGE) Initiative.
CDB officials said the project aligns with the bank’s priorities on digital infrastructure, energy security and climate resilience, while improving real-time monitoring, outage response, voltage control, billing accuracy and solar integration, and reducing system losses and environmental impact.
The Power VIII Project will be rolled out over 3 years and will deploy 115,000 smart meters across Belize, supported by advanced communications and analytics.
The initiative also includes feasibility studies for key transmission upgrades to strengthen grid resilience and support future expansion.
In addition to CDB financing, the project will receive a USD 330,000 SuRGE grant and USD 7.05 million in counterpart funding from BEL.
The post Caribbean Development Bank and Canada provide landmark USD 27.5 million financing to modernise Belize’s Electricity grid appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Canada are providing a landmark USD 27.53 million loan and grant package to modernise Belize’s electricity system through the Power VIII Project. The nationwide Advanced Metering Infrastructure and Grid Modernisation Programme is being implemented by Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) and represents the largest
The post Caribbean Development Bank and Canada provide landmark USD 27.5 million financing to modernise Belize’s Electricity grid appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
