Satellite town to be established in La Democracia
If you’ve traveled the Western Highway between Belize City and Belmopan, you can’t help but notice the neat rows of earthmoving equipment lined up as if they were used cars on sale. Over the next several years those bulldozers, graders, excavators and dump trucks will shape the gently rolling landscape into a place where one day thousands of Belizeans will live, hopefully free of the natural and man made perils that have made Belize City an often dicey place to call home. Over the last several weeks I’ve made a number of visits to the project and found that it’s nothing if not ambitious.
Land is already being cleared at the site where the new satellite city will be built. The site at mile thirty-one on the Western Highway was chosen after a number of alternate locations were inspected. Carolyn Trench Sandiford, the project’s coordinator, says there were a number of reasons why they believe the land is ideal for such a major project.
Carolyn Trench Sandiford, Project Coordinator
“There were several reasons for it. One, you are looking at a site, thirty-one miles away from the coast which reduces vulnerability to disaster and that was a very key consideration. The other consideration was its height above sea level, again it is between I think seventy to one hundred and forty feet above sea level.
“It is designed in such a way if you noticed, it is right at the junction of the Manatee Road therefore you are looking at a possible connection to the south. Now I know that for example the Ministry of Works will be doing some surveys on the Manatee Road with the possibility of paving the Manatee Road. If the Manatee Road is paved, it makes this new city at a critical junction, because you can make the connection down south without having to go through Belmopan on the Hummingbird, so obviously that becomes a stop point on the way down south. The city is about ten miles from the Belize river. It is planned with a road going up north, that means sometime in the near future there may be the possibility of a bridge, so again you are looking at a connection to the north a very strategic place.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Sandiford says whenever you are planning a new town, you have to look into the possibility of future expansion. With thousands of acres of open savannah, this place should never have to worry about overcrowding.”
The land, totaling almost eight thousand acres, was purchased by government from Abdul Hamze for nine million dollars. The construction will be done in seven phases. The first phase is being done by Adolph Lupp a German civil engineering company. Lupp is charged with putting in a number of infrastructures like roads, drains, sewerage and water.
Edmund Buettner, Project Manager
“Actually we are building a new village, a new city here. For this city, we require water for the people and economy for the people living and working here. The water required for the first phase of the project is six hundred gallons a minute. We intend to dig three wells each four hundred and fifty in depth.”
“The sewer system at the moment is not finally decided as to whether it will be vacuum system or whether it will be a gravity system. The proposal of the designers of Lupp company, due to the flat area, is to use a vacuum system.”
The company started work in April. However much of the construction has been delayed due to rains in the area. But it is not only the weather that has put a damper on things, Buettner says while the location is beautiful, the soil conditions are not so ideal.
Edmund Buettner
“The soil conditions is that we have, to the majority
of the property, we have is china clay. The china clay does not accept water, it cannot penetrate the soil, so it just stays on top and you need a very good drainage and storm water system to avoid water remain in this area and this is what we are trying to execute at the moment. This will be in the future the main point to get all the water, as soon as possible, away from this area.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Buettner says they have also taken into consideration the environment and steps are being taken to protect as much greenery as possible.”
Edmund Buettner
“The environment, we don’t think that we disturb the environment really, because we are trying to avoid damage to what is not necessary. We have to take bushes and trees away where will have to construct roads and later where houses will be built, but all the others, we will try to remain as it is. That is why the designers have been included in the scheme to keep this lagoon. We have seen coming down to keep it natural and to keep it as a recreational centre for the future.”
It will be another four years before we can expect a fully functioning city. However, Sandiford says the initial stage will include the construction of about eight hundred houses, which should be completed by August 2001. Sandiford says because Belize City is already plagued with so many problems and Belmopan is pressured, she believes the new city will be an ideal place for Belizeans to live. Sandiford says there is also a plan to attract business in the area as the development calls for a marketing and economic phase.
Carolyn Trench Sandiford
“And that phase has literally started already and I will say this, that I have had many calls from people, both local business people who have supermarkets and commercial establishments in Belize, who have been asking me when I can see the layout, when can we select the site, we want to put up our supermarket and things like that. So there is going to be opportunities for what I would say the traditional people or the traditional business people, who are well established who have their establishment and it is just a matter of setting up a branch. As well, there will be opportunities for people who have no business and may want to go up there and do a little something, the opportunity is going to be there.”
There are also designs for schools, churches, neighbourhood shops parks and playgrounds. Sandiford says the infrastructural development is expected to be completed in a year. At that time people will be able to move to the site.
Carolyn Trench Sandiford
“The initial stage of the project calls for about two thousand housing units. This will only take about one eighth, about a thousand fifty, sixty acres. So that will leave quite a lot of land still for urban expansion process.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Who will be constructing the houses and what kind of houses will there be?”
Carolyn Trench Sandiford
“At this point in time nothing has been finalised with the houses. The government has so far entered an agreement through DFC. DFC will be managing the houses as far as I am aware at this point in time.”
Jacqueline Woods
“This is where the first set of eight hundred houses will be constructed. Sandiford says they are also looking at the possibility of not building houses on all the lots that will be available.”
Carolyn Trench Sandiford
“We don’t want a system whereby you will see two thousand of the same houses. That adds to the monotony, it gives the whole concept of ghettorization, you don’t want that. One of the things about this project is the lot sizes, we insisted that the lot sizes be of such that they are more attractive and better than what people get in Belize City and in other parts of the country.”
“It’s an ideal opportunity for people who are renting houses to own their own homes. It’s an ideal opportunity to move away from the small lots and the swampy conditions for example of Belize City and to move into more higher ground.”
Sandiford says while it has not been finalised as yet, it has been recommended that an interim municipal authority be established so by the time the town is completed, you will be able to have a town council which manages the affairs such as garbage disposal and the general clean up of the area. A website has been created where you can get information on the new satellite town.
On Tuesday the project will be officially presented to the media at a briefing in Belize City.
