Newspaper says Carnival will build cruise port

His new vehicle may have a suspicious pedigree, but that has not stopped Belize City businessman Luke Espat from pulling off what appears to be a major financial coup. Tonight, the Reporter newspaper is saying that Espat has sealed a deal with the Carnival Corporation to build a marine terminal at the Belize City Port. According to the front-page article, the multi-million dollar terminal will be built on thirty acres of land owned by Belize Ports Limited, the company controlled by Espat, which bought the port and its assets from government in January 2002. The project is said to be worth an estimated sixty million U.S. dollars with initial construction for the project set to start in June under the company name of Belize Cruise Terminal Limited. According to the Reporter, a two hundred and fifty metre pier will be built and a channel dredged to accommodate the docking of the cruise ships, thereby eliminating the need for tenders. Carnival Corporation is the world’s largest operator of cruise Ships. We were unable to reach Espat to confirm the Reporter’s story.