BREAKING NEWS: House votes to cancel 25-year lease for Commerce Bight Port

By Aaron Humes: The House of Representatives has voted to cancel a 25-year lease given to Recological Systems Limited for the Commerce Bight Port outside of Dangriga Town, voiding its plans for a power plant in the area.

Member for Dangriga and Minister of State Dr Louis Zabaneh told us the debate was contentious, as sponsor of the motion and Minister of Public Utilities and Logistics Rodwell Ferguson unveiled alleged illegality on the part of the previous administration, which granted the lease mere days before the general election despite it being independently valued at more than $3 million. The investigation was jointly conducted by the Ministry of Public Utilities and Logistics and the Attorney General’s Office.

Dr Zabaneh said new investors have come forward with plans that he said would involve tourism and a “cultural village” around the Port, as well as redevelopment for trade. An Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study in 2017 estimated that the cost of redevelopment would be around US$60-80 million.

We’ll have much more and highlights from the debate later on.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.

© 2021, BreakingBelizeNews.com. Content is copyrighted and requires written permission for reprinting in online or print media. Theft of content without permission/payment is punishable by law.