Former V.O.A. compound will host free zone

Since the mid 1980’s it was home to a state of the art radio transmission facility used by the Voice of America to beam the U.S. worldview to a turbulent Central America. But when the Belize government declined to allow its conversion into a propaganda platform aimed at Cuba, the lease was cancelled and the one hundred and forty acre site reverted to Belizean control. Now government has decided that the fully cleared and fenced parcel, a mile south of Punta Gorda, will be home to a free zone for production, commerce and tourism. BELTRAIDE will be handling the initial management of the project, which currently includes several offices, residences and utility buildings, along with twenty, two hundred foot transmission towers and a one point two megawatt diesel generation plant. BELTRAIDE is looking for parties interested in helping develop the site and can be contacted at their headquarters in Belmopan.