Cruise tourism down but developer hopes high

The sale of the Belize City port remains a controversial issue but tonight, the project’s local developer is confident that one day soon, the southside of the old capital will boast a modern cruise terminal and docking facility. Earlier this week, News Five’s Janelle Chanona participated in a quick tour conducted by businessman Luke Espat on the latest developments at the site.

Luke Espat, Port Developer
?I feel it?s going to be the star port of the region yet. I am that optimistic, and I have a lot more optimism of what can happen here as a result of having this first phase in.?

Janelle Chanona
Bad weather might have delayed efforts this week but according to developer Luke Espat, in the near future the country?s main port will look very different.

Design concepts for the facility have been significantly altered but more than thirty acres of the sea have been reclaimed and more than two hundred acres of the shore have been filled. Espat maintains that the project?s low profile isn?t an indication of rocky relations with its main investor, the Carnival Corporation.

Luke Espat
?We would never have invested this kind of money if we are not sure they are with us. So that confidence is fixed there, and we look excitedly to the future.?

Janelle Chanona
?How much have you invested here??

Luke Espat
?So far, from the latest figures, we understand they are clocking ten million plus already.?

According to Site Engineer Daniel Reinhardt, the next big investment will be the pier.

Daniel Reinhardt, Site Engineer
?It?s going to be about six, seven month?s construction.?

Janelle Chanona
?How long will the pier be??

Daniel Reinhardt
?It will be about three hundred meters, which is the length of the ship. It?s going to be around that length.?

But when it comes to talk of the port, money and Luke Espat, a familiar accusation surfaces.

Luke Espat
?Again that is a sore point that keeps coming up with ourselves and having not paid for the port. It?s all a bunch a crap. We have now decided that the necessary legal steps will be taken against people continuously, especially the newspapers that continuously take us along those paths.?

?We bought the port of Belize which included Commerce Bight. There was a twenty million U.S. dollars that had to be made, and subsequent payments to the government after that. We are way ahead where those current payments are concerned, which should have been done over a ten year period. We are way ahead of those payment schedules.?

Espat is sticking to his deadline of December 2007 for the completion of phase one and is already advising the local labour force to get with the programme.

Luke Espat
?People have to realize that they get up much earlier. People have to realize that their attire is one of the most becoming issues, and attitude towards guests that arrive here because that is the lasting image that they get, is what they see.?

Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.