Posted: Wednesday, July 24, 2024. 9:30 am CST.
By Aaron Humes: The Southern Deep Port Facility Bill has the support of a key constituency in the Dangriga area – the Southern Workers’ Union, who expressed in the Senate through Senator Glenfield Dennison their support.
The Union stated, “…we have observed that the government of Belize is committed to the growth, development and transformation of the nation’s economy. There is a pressing need for economic activity to take place in Dangriga Town. It is for those reasons that the Commerce Bight Pier Port as is being brought to us by the Southern Deep Port Facility Bill is essential for job creation, economic sustainability and development that was done with consultation with the southern workers and its members.”
Leader of Government Business Senator Eamon Courtenay noted that part of the economic stimulus from the revamped Port will be tourism from across the border in Guatemala: “It is expected that this will create jobs and most importantly a new part of the tourism sector which is a marina where yachts can come in harbor and enjoy the beauty of Belize and be based there. I understand from the Minister of Tourism that in Guatemala in Rio Dulce the yachts have to come out of the country of Guatemala for a minimum of three months. They would love to do it in Belize but there is no marina. This seems to be a solution to that particular problem, aside from attracting other yachts that want to use marinas in our water.”
But there remain concerns. Michael Peyrefitte, Lead Opposition Senator, noted that he could not identify a single Belizean face attached to the project other than Emilio Zabaneh, and it seems the concessions are too much to risk: “From what we know Emilio Zabaneh is a Belizean. But there is nothing that prevents him from unilaterally divesting himself of these shares next week without telling the government, or if his company can’t meet his obligations these funders can come in and take over the port.”
Dr. Elma Kay, NGO Senator, cited the need for a comprehensive cruise port policy and plan that would help bring clarity to the current chaos: “We really need some clarity on our direction with respect to cruise ports. The repurposing of an existing facility like this commerce bight facility, the smaller size of the development, the nature of the development, as a public-private partnership investors, are all leagues ahead of the ongoing mega cruise tourism port fiasco our country has found itself embroiled in. as a country we do need to do better and we will continue to challenge our government administration to work with all stakeholders in developing a vision and plan, particularly as it concerns ports and tourism.”
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The post Dangriga embraces plans for Commerce Bight Port appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Wednesday, July 24, 2024. 9:30 am CST. By Aaron Humes: The Southern Deep Port Facility Bill has the support of a key constituency in the
The post Dangriga embraces plans for Commerce Bight Port appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
