Photo: Hon. Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management

by Kory Leslie (Freelance Writer)

BELIZE CITY, Belize, Thurs. Nov. 24, 2022

Following months of public discussion, and expressions of concern from various quarters, including the environmental community, the National Environmental Appraisal Committee (NEAC) has rejected Waterloo Investment Holdings Ltd.’s proposal for the construction of a cruise terminal, accompanied by expansion of the cargo capacity, at the Port of Belize Ltd. Last year, Waterloo and the Port of Belize submitted a proposal to the NEAC for the construction of a cruise terminal and a new tourism village at the Port of Belize – a proposal which was ultimately rejected late last year primarily because of questions and concerns that had not, in the view of the NEAC, been adequately addressed in the Environmental Impact Assessment submitted by the company. Last week, on Thursday, November 24, following a final round of public consultations, the NEAC unanimously denied the project the environmental clearance needed to proceed after a second attempt by the company to get the green light.

While the Waterloo developers argued that the cruise terminal project could generate jobs in the Port Loyola constituency, groups like Oceana and the Belize Coalition of Sustainable Fisheries, as well as many Belizeans, have been publicly expressing their concerns about the project, stating that the consultations have been insufficient, and that Waterloo did not meet the requirements for environmental clearance. (Others, such as UEF’s YaYa Marin Coleman, noted that the residents of Port Loyola had not been fully informed of the potential impact of the project.)

This was affirmed by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Hon. Orlando Habet, who confirmed to KREM News that the project had been rejected, citing that the project would only target the bulk storage facility at the Port should the project get approval. This is reportedly one of the main reasons that the NEAC did not see it fit to allow the undertaking to proceed.

Notably, Michael Ashcroft, who is the chairman of Waterloo Holdings, had vehemently objected to the initial rejection of the development last December and had written to Prime Minister John Briceño at the start of the year, claiming that the rejection of the project’s EIA by the NEAC was in violation of the Treaty of 1982 between the GOB and the UK. Further, Ashcroft made mention of seeking compensation for the $US 5M invested by Waterloo Holdings in the development of a plan for the project and claimed that the Barrow administration had assured their investors that the project would be greenlit as long as the EIA regulations were met.

It has yet to be announced whether Ashcroft will proceed with litigation now that the project has been rejected for the second time.