Did Savings Undermine the Coastal Plain Highway?

The Coastal Plain Highway, one of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects, is back in the spotlight tonight after recent flooding left sections of the road damaged. Originally designed and contracted under a U.D.P. administration and later completed under the P.U.P., the highway was meant to boost connectivity and withstand the elements. But now, with parts of it showing signs of strain, questions are mounting; were cost-saving measures prioritized over long-term durability? U.D.P. Leader Tracy Panton is now weighing in, addressing whether those reported savings may have come at a higher price, especially when it comes to the road’s resilience in the face of Belize’s harsh weather conditions.

 

Tracy Panton, Leader, United Democratic Party

“We see before our very eyes, what happens when you tamper with a project properly designed under the UDP, properly financed under the UDP to ensure we had this climate resilient infrastructure we know we need because the climate patterns are changing and we know we are going to have natural disaster that wears heavily on public infrastructure. But Julius Espat and the PUP government grand stand. We are saving twenty-eight million dollars, that the contract was bloated and inflated because we had designed and built in measures and infrastructure that would help the highways and roadways of this country that will remain robust. Let us see how much we will have to pay to repair and fix it and this is not the first time and that is the thing. That Coastal Road in particular, if I can recall at least three times had to repaired because on the onset, on the grandstanding of the shoulders of the UDP’s good governance practices, Mister Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing said we are focused on cost savings. Cost savings for who, that is the question.”

 

Panton maintains that any short-term savings may ultimately be overshadowed by the cost of repeated repairs to the highway.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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