Ministry of Works and IDB provide road and canal maintenance equipment to Belize City Council

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By BBN Staff: The Government of Belize through the Ministry of Works today handed over to the Belize City Council, road and canal maintenance equipment procured by the Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Program, with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

 The equipment handed over includes a 2017 jet-vacuum truck, a 2016 street sweeper, a 2016 asphalt distributor truck, a 2016 backhoe loader, and a 2015 vibrator compactor all valued at a total of BZ$1.7 million.

 The Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Program was designed to reduce the city’s vulnerability to flooding events while increasing the ability of the City Council to provide adequate maintenance of streets, drains, and canals.

Without regular maintenance, roads can rapidly fall into disrepair, preventing the realization of the longer-term impacts of road improvements on development.  To this end, the program has also provided for capacity building including training on the use of the equipment which forms part of an overall Maintenance Management System, spare parts, insurance, and a shed to house the equipment was also built by the Ministry of Works.

 Errol Gentle, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Works said, “We are confident that this equipment will be used appropriately and that the ease of transport of goods and people in the intervention areas will be improved as a result…Sustaining the benefits long after the program has ended will depend on the efforts of key partners including the communities themselves to keep the canals free of debris. These equipment are only as valuable as the commitment we all make to value and contribute to the preservation of the city’s patrimony, including its infrastructure.”

 Belize City Mayor expressed gratitude for the equipment and assured government and the ministry that the equipment will be used to deliver quality services to the residents of Belize City.

The Mayor said, “The equipment we are receiving today will further build our capacity to deliver quality services to the residents of Belize City. We shall express our gratitude by the way we put these machines to work in an effort to realize the vision of the project steering committee. As stewards of this city, we will take proper care of these equipment, use them to maintain the infrastructure that was developed under the Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Project and use them for the further development of our infrastructure in Belize City.”