Senate Approves $34 Million USD Loan for George Price Highway Rehabilitation

The Senate has approved a US$34 million loan to rehabilitate approximately 15 miles of the George Price Highway between Belize City and Hattieville.

Earlier in the day, senators temporarily suspended the motion, citing a lack of detailed information. On adjournment, they met with Chief Engineer at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Evondale Moody, who provided clarifications.

Senator Eamon Courtenay explained, “Mr. Moody was available to my colleague senators to answer their questions, to provide clarifications on the many issues that they raised.” He added that if he had known about the concerns earlier, arrangements would have been made before the meeting.

While all senators had agreed that the highway must be rehabilitated, concerns centered on whether the technical assessments were complete and if the cost per mile represented value for money. Senator Eamon Courtenay said, “Mr. Moody was able to, at least to my satisfaction, satisfy senators that the technical work has been done that is required for the very difficult and challenging rehabilitation to occur”. He added, “He expressed his professional opinion that we are getting value for money.”

Following the clarifications, the Senate approved the loan. The funding will allow the Government of Belize to rehabilitate one of the country’s busiest highways. The approval authorizes the government to enter into a loan agreement with the Caribbean Development Bank and grants the Minister of Finance authority to execute the agreement.