Government to acquire reclaimed Stake Bank land – Prime Minister hopes to revive cruise port

Published by BBNTEAM at August 28, 2024

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Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2024. 7:24 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: Prime Minister John Briceño said today that the Government’s decision to compulsorily acquire the 24-acre extension of Stake Bank Island, known as Minister’s Fiat Grant 881 of 2021 from Michael Feinstein, the former Chairman and Shareholder of Stake Bank Enterprises Ltd., is based on a “sense of urgency” to build a cruise berthing port in the Belize District.

“There is a legislation that was passed by the UDP whereby we deemed this project of national importance; and now it seems that between the different investors, they have been having issues, that project has been at a standstill…if we look at the numbers for the cruise lines they have been going down, we need to be able to finish that project,” he told reporters today.

A first notice of the acquisition has been published, in the form of a letter from Commissioner of Lands and Surveys Talbert Brackett to Feinstein. They will open negotiations over a price for compensation, but if it cannot be worked out, then the matter would go to court – but either way, the land would still be acquired. The Prime Minister further noted that “as it is now, because no work is taking place, I am told that as much as five acres have already been washed away; so we really need to move with a sense of urgency.”

Taxpayers’ money will not be used, the P.M. asserted, as the main investor, Operaciones Portuarias S.A. de C.V. of Honduras, has agreed to indemnify the Government against any result and a deposit downpayment has already been paid as a start.

The matter is presently before the courts, with Stake Bank Enterprises Limited (in receivership) represented by Senior Counsel Dean Barrow, who we understand made the proposal for this acquisition by letter to the Government in July.

Some $270 million has already been spent by Feinstein and others on the project, but it was put in receivership by Atlantic Bank Limited earlier this year.

As noted in the Government’s statement issued Tuesday evening, “Ten years ago, the then Government enacted the Stake Bank Cruise Docking Facility Development Act of 2014 which provided various investment incentives and committed Government to supporting Stake Bank’s Completion, in the context of a much-needed cruise berthing facility. This berthing is even more urgent today as cruise ships have become larger. Having a dock for cruise ships, extending the tour times for visitors and salvaging a major investment project underlines the rationale for Cabinet’s decision.”

Whether that also involves alterations to the coral reef structure at One Man Caye to allow for the safe passage of larger Oasis-class cruise ships remains to be seen.

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