Massive Port Project Filed for Review: Have Your Say!

Belize’s principal port is poised for a transformation that could reshape trade, tourism, and the city’s coastline. Port of Belize Limited has submitted a 600-page Environmental and Social Impact Assessment to the Department of the Environment (DOE).

The proposal outlines plans to expand cargo operations and develop new cruise infrastructure at Caesar Ridge Road in the Port Loyola area.

This environmental review stage opens the door for public input.

Minister of Sustainable Development Orlando Habet said the EIA is not a rubber stamp. He added that a project of this scale requires a full Environmental Impact Assessment because of the extensive marine works involved.

“For the project that has to do with the port especially, it would require an EIA,” Habet added as he pointed to factors like dredging, mangrove removal, and the scale of the development dictating the depth of environmental review.

The report will now be examined by the National Environmental Appraisal Committee (NEAC), a panel of technical experts that will review the document and make recommendations and conditions to limit potential harm before the DOE makes a final decision.

“The Department of Environment is not there to stop a project but to entertain the submission of those proposals and to study them. And then it goes to the NEAC for their revision and study. And then a recommendation comes from the NEAC to the Department of Environment saying, ‘This EIA is being recommended for approval so that they can get their environmental clearance,’ Habet explained.

The public will have its say in a hybrid consultation on March 25 in Belize City. Habet said this project has economic, environmental, and social impacts, and he wants communities informed and involved.

The public can review the EIA online on the DOE’s website or in person at four Belize City libraries: Port Loyola Public Library, Belize National Library Service and Information System, Leo Bradley Library, and Turton Library Center.

Comments are to be submitted before April 1.