Fate of harbour causeway project in doubt

The government may be planning major road works but one thoroughfare whose future is in doubt tonight is the proposed causeway linking Belize City to North Drowned Caye. According to the Department of the Environment, the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, having reviewed developer Mike Feinstein’s environmental impact assessment for the project, has decided to defer a decision until Feinstein can provide more information, including geological and engineering details on the structure, which would bisect the city’s harbour to provide road access to a luxury resort and residential complex on North Drowned Caye and likely extend to the new cruise port now under construction on Stake Bank. At a public hearing on the project held in March, opponents cited social and environmental concerns including loss of access for sailboats, interference with manatees, proximity to a national park, traffic congestion where the road meets Belize City, and failure to open the road to the public. Both the North Drowned Caye and Stake Bank projects–without the causeway component–have reached the stage where environmental compliance plans have been proposed by the D.O.E., although they have not yet been signed by the developer.