Ambergris Development Plan Fuels Consultation Fight

A six-hundred-million-dollar plan could dramatically reshape northern Ambergris Caye. It proposes a new airport, a cargo port, housing communities and major upgrades to public infrastructure. But before the first project gets off the ground, residents and business leaders are demanding answers. They say a plan years in the making moved ahead without meaningful public consultation. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

It is a massive blueprint for the future of Ambergris Caye, but many island residents say they are only now learning what it could mean for their communities. The Government of Belize’s strategic development plan for the north appears in a 489-page Inter-American Development Bank report published in 2025. The proposals include relocating the John Greif II Airport, building a cargo port and creating new residential communities. But the controversy is no longer only about what government wants to build. It is about who had a voice in shaping the plan. Residents say government planned the island’s future without them, and Area Representative Andre Perez now acknowledges officials must go back to the public.

 

Andre Perez, Area Rep, Belize Rural South

“We do understand the concern of all stakeholders, which are valid concerns and as such we have to go back to the drawing board, in consultation with the people.”

 

But stakeholders say that consultation should have happened much earlier. Efren Perez, President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association, says even some airlines were unaware of the proposals.

 

Efren Perez, President, Belize Tourism Industry Association

“We have spoken to some of the airlines already and they are telling us that they are not aware of some of these things that are being proposed. And so, what we are asking is for clarity, for the government to share the information on what the plans are. The document you are mentioning is a plan that was presented. It was not a consultation done and so what we need is a consultation.”

 

One of the most controversial proposals is the possible relocation of the John Greif II Airport. The report argues that the existing facility’s urban location limits expansion and future air traffic. It says a new airport could accommodate more visitors, support tourism growth and free up land in San Pedro for housing, public spaces and mixed-use development. But San Pedro Mayor Wally Nunez stresses that the report presents relocation as a recommendation, not a final decision.

 

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro Town

“It is there in the document that it could be used for that purpose. But it is not saying we have to do that. There is many components to this project, but it is not saying you have to sell the airport or close it down. It is a recommendation from the IDB.”

 

The plan also proposes a cargo port near Santa Cruz Bay. Planners say the project could support northern development, improve logistics and attract investment, but environmental and infrastructure concerns are mounting. Catherine Paz, President of the Ambergris Northern Alliance, says the island cannot support development of this scale in its present condition.

 

Catherine Paz, President, Ambergris Northern Alliance

“And of course it is just going to be more strenuous on our environment, on our infrastructure. We are not prepared for any big urban development.”

 

Gabriel Zetina, the UDP caretaker for Belize Rural South, also questions whether government has completed the groundwork needed to justify the  investment.

 

Gabriel Zetina, UDP Caretaker, Belize Rural South

“Not only have there not been any consultation. From our understanding there is no EIA, no business plan, there is absolutely nothing other than this report from the IDB and the position the Prime Minister has taken, to invest or to spend six hundred million. This island has many issues.”

 

Still, the proposal extends far beyond an airport and cargo port. It calls for housing developments in Cayo Francés and Grand Belizean Estates, complete with schools, health facilities, parks, utilities and public services. Planners say those new communities could ease overcrowding in San Pedro and provide housing for the island’s growing workforce. Andre Perez says many working families welcome development, particularly those struggling with the island’s high cost of living.

 

Andre Perez

“If you talk to the people down there who really doing there that can’t make ends meet, they are supporting that this is going to benefit them, because for too long the common man working is struggling that seventy-five percent of their earning goes into rent and food, twenty-five percent is what they have to cover for additional expenses. These are the people that are clamoring to say, listen, if there is going to be development, include us, not just the stakeholders.”

 

The wider plan also covers roads, water and sewer systems, schools, health facilities, renewable energy, electric transportation and improved waste management. The plan promises greener tourism and restored mangroves and coral reefs, but islanders want a real say in what gets built and how it affects their home. Paul Lopez for News Five.

 

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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