New BelCan Bridge Design Unveiled

This afternoon, the design for the BelCan Bridge was officially unveiled in Belize City. The replacement project comes after years of urgent need for refurbishment of the existing structure.

In October 2024, Prime Minister John Briceño, along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Fonseca, welcomed Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung and his delegation to the BelCan Bridge site. During that visit, Minister Lin pledged Taiwan’s financial support for the bridge’s reconstruction.

At today’s unveiling, Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner spoke on the significance of the project and called it a “priority infrastructure project for the city of Belize… a gift from a great, great relationship with Taiwan.”

The BelCan Bridge Replacement Project will be executed with the Belize City Council serving as the local implementing partner.

Mayor Wagner stated that as an implementing partner, the Council will “ensure that local priorities, the residents of Belize City, are taken into consideration whenever decisions are made. Implementing partner locally means we are easy to make quick decisions because it will be done locally; we will ensure that the residents’ voices are heard in respect to the phases of the construction.”

Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026. According to Mayor Wagner, there are provisions for both pedestrians and vehicles to assist with traffic flow through the bridge.

“There is a component to do a crossing for pedestrians and motorists to ensure that people are able to move around pretty easily. For traffic [vehicles], obviously, they’ll have to use the Chetumal Bridge and the BelChina Bridge,” Wagner said.

Other bridges in the Belize District, including the Swing Bridge in the Old Capital, are also slated for replacement.