Port of Belize Could Become Tren Maya Gateway

Imagine a future where Belize becomes a key link in regional trade, connecting Mexico, Guatemala, and beyond. That’s the vision Prime Minister John Briceño shared when talking about the Tren Maya project and its potential connection to a new port in Belize City. The Prime Minister admits the idea is a long shot, and a costly one. But if it happens, the Tren Maya could extend its reach all the way to Belize’s new port. That would allow the train to pick up containers and deliver them to southern Mexico, an area that currently lacks an adequate port.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I know the Tren Maya is a long shot, I’m not saying it’s going to be done overnight; it’s a long shot and it requires a lot of money, monies that we don’t have as a country but that we can do regionally, Guatemala and Mexico have agreed that it also has to be a regional project and we need both local and international investors and a whole contingency for us to be able to do that. But should we be able to pull that off, the idea then is the Tren Maya could stop at the port, and if it stops at the port then it could pick up containers to deliver to Mexico. As you know, the southern part of Mexico, they do not have an adequate port. So their containers need to come through Belize, they can’t do it as they wish right now because with what we have, we just don’t have the facilities. But with a new port, they’d be transporting thousands of containers every year through the Port of Belize. Guatemala, likewise, has a problem. Their port on the Atlantic side has reached its maximum and they are bursting at the seams.”