Public Consultation on Belize City Cruise Port is Met with Objections

A public consultation on the proposed development of a fourth cruise terminal in Belize has been met with serious concerns and objection from the tourism and environmental sectors.  On Thursday evening, the Department of the Environment, along with Chamberlain Consultancy and Nextera, on behalf of Waterloo, held a virtual meeting with experts regarding the proposed expansion of the Port of Belize facility, as well as the construction of a cruise terminal in Belize City.  Ahead of the scheduled event, the Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize, FECTAB, held a press conference during which it also raised several red flags in respect of the D.O.E. proceeding with a public consultation.  During that media briefing, several points were made that were subsequently debunked during the consultation.  Dr. Dionne Chamberlain-Miranda, a proponent of the Waterloo project, demystified what was being reported by FECTAB.

Dr. Dionne Chamberlain-Miranda, Chamberlain Consultancy Ltd.

Dr. Dionne Chamberlain-Miranda

“The very first thing that we’d like to do is to dispel some common project misconceptions and this project is not like any other project that has started already.  This project actually is about a bulk handling cargo facility to improve Belize’s export capacity, as well as being a berthing port for cruise lines.  The very first thing that I’d like to state also is that the actual dredging volume is less than seven point five cubic meters and not the ten million cubic meters which has been sent out in the media.  Actually, less than five million will be placed offshore, so it’s not the gravity of the ten that was mentioned in the media as well.  Frequent maintenance dredging will not be necessary.  In fact, almost no shoaling since the first dredging in 2001 for the existing port that is the Port of Belize Ltd. at this point.  In terms of the offshore material placement, I want you to know that throughout the presentation, this will be done in as an environmentally responsible manner as is done frequently and throughout the rest of the world in successful projects being ran by qualified experts and professionals like this one will be done by as well.  The project presents no increased risk to flooding which I know has been a concern, especially since in the media the persons who live in Port Loyola have been facing these issues right now. So for the nearby coastal areas, this project will actually protect the adjacent areas and improve the local drainage.”