Belize City Council Sets Record Straight on Belcan Bridge

Tonight, we’re cutting through the noise and bringing you the facts about a story that’s been making headlines. It’s all about the new Belcan Bridge, a major infrastructure project that’s set to transform how we move through the city. The Belize City Council has stepped forward to clear the air after some claims made by Roque Matus were broadcast in the media. In a press release issued today, the Council laid out a detailed timeline to explain exactly what’s been happening behind the scenes. Let’s rewind to 2019, that’s when M&M Engineering Consultants Ltd. was hired by the Government of Belize to design the new Belcan Bridge. Once those plans were done, they became government property and were held by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing. Fast forward to 2023, the Belize City Council was tapped to lead the construction of the bridge. The design documents they received were marked “for information only.” In other words, they weren’t complete and couldn’t be used to actually build the bridge. That’s when things took a major turn in 2024. The Republic of China (Taiwan) stepped in with a generous grant to fund the bridge’s construction. With funding secured, the Council brought in Turba Limited, an international engineering firm with experience right here in Belize, to oversee the project. But Turba quickly spotted some serious issues. The documents were missing key pieces, no calculations, no geotechnical or environmental reports, and not enough structural detail. Even after getting AutoCAD drawings from MIDH, the plans still weren’t good enough to safely move forward. So, what did the Council do? They doubled down. They asked Turba, along with engineering partners CCL and Belizean structural engineer Carlton Young, to help fill in the gaps. Together, they created what are now called the “Supplementary Design Documents.”