B.E.L. proceeds with plans for Chalillo

After Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling gave environmentalists leave for judicial review, there is some confusion as to what impact that decision will have at the Chalillo dam site. Tonight we can report that while there is no on site construction being done, Belize Electricity Limited is moving forward with the dam. According to Chief Executive Officer of B.E.L., Lynn Young, the company is in the process of conducting surveys in the area to obtain necessary information for the engineering and design details of the structure. Young says upon the completion of such plans, they will then ask contractors to submit tenders to construct the dam. As for the environmental compliance plan, which was part of the conditional environmental clearance approved by the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, NEAC, the energy company says that plan should be ready within the next two weeks. During Thursday’s proceedings at the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh ruled that there was an arguable case regarding NEAC’s approval of the B.E.L. environmental impact assessment of the Chalillo dam site. Hearings on the issue are expected to begin within the next six weeks.