Norwegian’s 2013 revenues almost double Belize GDP
The Department of the Environment (DOE) has announced that Norwegian Cruise Lines—a multibillion-dollar international company—has submitted a 25-page supplementary to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Harvest Caye Nature Park, the project EIA which was the subject of a public consultation held in January.
In its submissions to the DOE, the company is also reporting on proceedings of the consultation, at which environmental as well as socio-economic concerns were ventilated.
Today, Amandala was advised by an official Government source that the members of the National Environmental Appraisal Committee (NEAC) should meet in early March, after members have been able to peruse the submitted documents. The general public is also being given until February 25 to provide feedback on the EIA supplementary and the consultation report.
The Harvest Caye supplementary addresses water and wastewater concerns, as well as dredging and disposal of sediments.
It notes that, “All cruise ships visiting Harvest Caye will have a self-sufficient ‘closed’ treatment system equipped with a state-of-the-art power and water generation systems. These systems will remain independent of the island operations.”
It added that the island would be a self-sustaining system, in regard to water and wastewater, whereas water will be filtered from natural sources for potable use and treated prior to safely returning to the environment.
Norwegian is reporting in its latest press release that it has “commenced development of recently acquired island destination in Belize…” However, Amandala was told by a member of NEAC (which visited the site on January 22) that no development has begun on the ground.
On a point of interest, Norwegian earned almost twice Belize’s GDP in 2013. The company’s financial report, just released on Tuesday, indicates that the company’s revenues were up by 12.9% to US$2.9 billion. In the fourth quarter alone, Norwegian earned a reported US$600 mil.
Norwegian has said that it intends to spend US$50 million on the Belize project.