Shyne Weighs in on Seabed Concerns

Concerning the dredging up of millions of cubic meters of material from the seabed, Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow said that the environmental community was incensed at the thought of Waterloo’s proposal.  However, no one, including Chief Executive Officer, Doctor Kenrick Williams, has said anything about Portico’s plan to excavate eight and half million cubic meters of material for its project.

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

Shyne Barrow

“All of the environmentalists, including Dr. Williams and the NGOs, were up in arms as to the Waterloo project.  So why is it that that ramifications for Waterloo which is a million less, does not hold with Portico.  One.  Number two, when Vulcan tried to go to the same Gales Point Manatee, they were dismissed.  They were exiled from Belize because of environmental concerns, now you have Portico building on a manatee reserve and Royal Caribbean is going to talk about environmental considerations?  I just cannot fathom it.  Further, again, the Minister of Natural Resources told me that they have not given Portico the permission to build on the seabed.  So that project doesn’t exist the way that Royal Caribbean thinks it does.  It’s a figment of the pension plan for the boys’ imagination, in my humble view.  It’s a dead-raise project, in my humble view, and as you’ve seen in the Definitive Agreement, hardy’s and brody’s is written out so that Royal Caribbean can say, yes, this is the project that makes sense, but that project simply does not exist.  If you just restrict my comments to the seabed which according to their proposal, the seabed is essential for that project to go forward, the ministry has not given that permission.  So that project does not exist, it’s a dead-raise project, in my view.”