P.M. Says No Exclusivity for Stake Bank Developer

Dean Barrow

Talk of a cruise port in Belize received new life after Stake Bank developer Mike Feinstein indicated that he would be pulling out. Feinstein told News Five that he would need exclusivity from G.O.B. to ensure that he could recover his mega-million dollar investment. The developer has actually asked the Prime Minister for just that, but that request has been denied. Today Barrow explained why it’s not a matter of not wanting to do it, but rather a matter of not being able to offer exclusivity.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“The Stake Bank developer who was the person you initially gave the exclusive contract to with respect to what became the Fort Street Tourism Village, and who in turn sold his concession to Royal Caribbean and Diamonds International, challenged that exclusive contract that you had given and succeeded in getting a judgment in the Supreme Court saying that exclusivity cannot stand. Now with respect to Norwegian Cruise Lines, they and the government have to take account of that fact. There is now a judgment of the Supreme Court striking down exclusivity. What it means apart from the implications for Norwegian Cruise Lines, is that when the Stake Bank developer comes to government and says I want a twenty-five year exclusive for my Stake Bank project, just after he succeeded in getting a judgment from the Supreme court stating that exclusives must go out the window…of course government can’t countenance that. When we did give an exclusive it was before the ruling of the Supreme Court. That is all that is the rub with Stake Bank. We are perfectly prepared ad have told that to the developer to have him proceed, but he can’t proceed on the basis of exclusivity which he is demanding because it is not within our legal power to give him exclusivity.”

Barrow says that the government is certainly willing to look at proposals by various parties who would like to look again at Port Loyola as the location for a cruise port. But exclusivity would not be a part of any agreement.