Minister Habet Says Due Process Followed in Case of P.B.L. Expansion Project
Earlier today, News Five caught up with Minister of Sustainable Development Orlando Habet and asked for an update on the tribunal as it relates to the proposed Port of Belize Expansion Project that has been rejected by the Department of Environment. As we’ve reported, the British Caribbean Bank and Prize Investment Holdings have invoked the Bilateral Investment Treaty for resolution. The matter is now before the tribunal and Minister Habet says that they’ve been following the process set out by the law, including the selection of the tribunal, which has been done.
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change & Disaster Risk Management
“The Belizean public already knows that in these cases either way in which the DOE or the ministry goes in terms of the decision-making process after evaluation of EIAs and everything else that you can only go one way – it’s a yes or a no – and in either case, there is the possibility for us being taken to court and having this litigation process go through. So whether it was from the developer or from the conservation N.G.O.s and everything else, in one way or the other, you will be taken to the court. And so the department has to make certain that the process is legal, it goes through the right process and also that the decisions that are made are made based especially on science, because of the environmental component, but also they have to look at the social side and the economic side. In this case, well the decision from the DOE after recommendation from NEAC was to go with a no and so that was what was given out. In return, within two weeks, we got the appeal and so we had to start the appeal process by naming the three persons on the tribunal. That has now been done and we are just awaiting for the judge to call her team and start the process. I can’t talk much of procedures and what will happen because it is already in the court and so we cannot influence or bias the court by what we say.”
