Northern and Central districts to get monies for road repairs; Minister commits to improving national infrastructure network

Published by BBNTEAM at August 24, 2022

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Posted: Wednesday, August 24, 2022. 11:36 am CST.

By Aaron Humes: Communities in the Belize, Corozal, and Orange Walk Districts will benefit from the $12 million to be supplemented from the House of Representatives according to Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Julius Espat, following last week’s flooding.

The communities of Ladyville, Burrell Boom, Maskall and Bomba, Belize City (Lake Independence, Port Loyola, Belama), Western Paradise, Flowers Bank, May Pen, and Crooked Tree in the Belize District will see road repairs, culvert installation, drainage improvements and other improvements valued at $6.75 million.

New culverts will be installed across roads in the Orange Walk District and in Orange Walk Town and outlying villages from Trial Farm in the north to Carmelita in the south there will be drainage and other improvements, especially in the Yo Creek area, for a total of $4 million in Orange Walk, and the same for parts of Corozal Town and southern villages from Libertad to San Roman for $1.25 million.

The Minister took the opportunity to reiterate the importance of infrastructure, quoting an institutional strengthening study for the Ministry that stated that having to replace infrastructure actually cuts into the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) because of the need for continued maintenance. As an example, he cited simple pavement of roads without installing proper drainage and amenities and ignorance of the earthen and gravel roads, especially in rural areas. Belize’s road network numbers approximately 3,000 miles, of which about a sixth is paved as well as 6,000 miles of drains and hundreds of bridges.

In addition to the major projects on the roadways, Espat reminded, the Ministry is helping municipalities with their works despite not having direct control; he especially cited the northernmost town in Corozal and the southernmost in Punta Gorda.

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