There has yet to be an official statement from the Government of Belize, but Amandala was able to confirm today that the Government of Belize has signed a BZ$900,000 land deal with Blue Diamond Ventures for the sale of 180 acres of land that were a part of the former Lynam College in Stann Creek.
The deal, according to Financial Secretary Joe Waight, was signed at the boardroom of the Central Bank in Belize City last Friday, June 22.
Signing for Belize was Prime Minister Said Musa, and for Blue Diamond was CEO/president, John Quincey Moaning.
Also present for GOB were Attorney General Francis Fonseca, and the Fin Sec, who told us that Cabinet approved the deal three months ago.
Musa and Moaning also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in agriculture, education, training, and research and development.
Ambassador Philip Priestley, former British High Commissioner in Belize, is a director of Blue Diamond Ventures. According to the company, he joined them last year, bringing 35 years’ experience in trade, investment and bilateral relations promotion, and has been leading the high-level talks with GOB.
Amandala only became aware of the signing after Blue Diamond issued a press release on the Internet today.
Blue Diamond Ventures, Inc., a Texas-based company, says that the land will be used to set up the company’s headquarters for bio-fuels, goat production and research and development operation.
The company is expected to pay for the land once the necessary land surveys are completed and the Government prepares the title, said Waight. The land transfer should take 6 to 8 weeks, and if the company does not materially commence its operations in a year, the Government will reacquire the property, he added.
Since last year, Blue Diamond Ventures has been making its plans for its Belize operations widely known in the international press—so much so that they apparently went ahead of themselves, speaking confidently about their Belize operations even before any deal had been finalized with the Government.
The company was previously negotiating with the Government to purchase two recently sold properties – the Old Libertad Sugar Factory and associated lands, which GOB sold to Merconsult SA of Panama, and the soy bean plant in Yo Creek, Orange Walk, which has gone to Nutrisoya Ltd., a local Mennonite company.
Blue Diamond Ventures will begin with a pilot project. Its press release issued today said, “The company will start immediately on the setup of a bio-diesel pilot plant, with plans to construct a facility with an eventual capacity of 50 to 100 million gallons per year (GPY). The company will now direct its efforts toward securing greater capitalization for the larger aspects of the project.”
Its release quotes Prime Minister Musa as saying that, “Blue Diamond’s investment in bio-fuels production in Belize will offer the people of Stann Creek and Toledo, in particular, the prospect of significant and much-needed employment and educational opportunities.”
Musa added that government is fully committed to the project and to the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly sources of fuel.
While the Belize media was not a part of Friday’s signing ceremony, Blue Diamond reports that “media representatives” were on hand, taping for a feature on Blue Diamond Ventures which should be aired on CBNC’s World Business Review.
According to Waight, the company also has a cooperation agreement with Texas A&M University for the project. Dr. Gerald Riskowski, professor and Department Head, and Dr. Sergio C. Capareda, assistant professor from Texas A&M’s Department of Biological and Agricutural Engineering Department, were also on hand for the signing, said Blue Diamond, which promises a separate press release to explain the institution’s role.
Waight told us that the sale does not affect ANRI – the Agriculture and Natural Resource Institute, which also sits on a part of the former Lynam premises. However, Blue Diamond plans to renovate some of the other buildings on the premises to accommodate staff and researches. The company says it also plans to establish the Blue Diamond Research Center of the Americas on the site.
The company explains that bio-diesel is made from vegetable oils such as soybean, canola, rapeseed, palm; animal fats such as chicken or lard; or waste cooking oil reacted with methanol. It can be used in its pure form, and it can also be blended with petroleum-based diesel in any ratio (often between 2% and 20%).
The company has also expressed interest in using sugarcane and molasses to produce ethanol, producing goat, tilapia and shrimp for the world market, as well as producing goat fibers such as cashmere and mohair.
Blue Diamond had previously announced that it has also entered into talks with the United States government to construct a much larger 50 million gallon bio-diesel plant and research facility in that country.
The company’s initial work in Belize would, evidently, serve as a pilot project for its larger scale operations.
The Government has not disclosed the nature of the Blue Diamond agreement, and what concessions, if any, the investor is being given.