Photo: Allan Herrera, lead local consultant for Waterloo

Waterloo local consultant challenges Portico/DOE on fulfillment of ECP requirements

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. June 29, 2023

Allan Herrera, the lead local consultant for Waterloo’s Port of Belize Ltd. (PBL) cruise terminal expansion project has joined in on the documentary onslaught against its competitor’s Port of Magical Belize project. Portico Enterprises Ltd. (PEL) was granted environmental clearance for its Port of Magical Belize project 3 miles south of the Sibun River at a meeting of the National Environmental Appraisal Committee (NEAC) on February 2, 2021. Portico was officially notified of the decision in April 2021.

That environmental clearance came over five months after the signing of a Definitive Agreement (DA) between then Minister of Economic Development, Erwin Contreras and Portico’s CEO, David Gegg on October 1, 2020. The DA was leaked on May 25 of this year and has been deemed as sordid due to the wild fiscal-incentive concessions. Contreras’ then Cabinet colleagues have taken distance from the signing of the document, saying that it did not go to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Investments as required, and neither did it get Cabinet approval. They have therefore labelled it as illegal. After the Ministry of Finance was harshly criticized for taking the same agreement for approval to Cabinet in May this year, Prime Minister John Briceño said the terms will be renegotiated.

In a June 26 4-page letter to the Chief Environmental Officer, Anthony Mai, Herrera makes a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He seeks to find out if Portico has complied with all the terms and conditions of the Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) within the stipulated timeframes outlined. Herrera makes a request to be provided with copies of the submissions made by Portico to prove compliance. Specifically, he asks for the water quality monitoring program, the manatee management plan, the emergency management and response plan, and an approved Rapid Ecological Assessment along with supporting data, plans and designs before road construction, all of which were to be submitted within the first year of the signing of the ECP. Notably, it has now been over two years and two months since environmental clearance was granted. We wrote Mai to determine if he had responded or intends to respond to the request for information, but our message went unanswered.

This would not be the first request for information from interests linked to the PBL cruise port project. Other Government officials, including the Prime Minister John Briceño, have ignored FOIA requests regarding the Portico project. This has prompted Waterloo’s attorney, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith to write PM Briceño warning of a possible judicial review if they do not respond.

Continuing with his requests, in his letter to Mai, Herrera also points to the requirement for a $150,000 payment to defray incremental costs for monitoring by relevant government departments during pre-construction and construction to be paid 90 days after the signing of the ECP. There is indication that the fee has not been paid. Herrera additionally highlights, “On the signature page of the ECP, it states that Portico agrees to “commence the implementation of the terms and conditions stipulated within this ECP within two (2) years from the date of signing this ECP. Should this project not commence within the agreed two years, then PORTICO Enterprises Limited will need to reapply for Environmental Clearance and a new ECP may be prepared.” Herrera notifies Mai that during a recent visit to the proposed project site, they confirmed that the works cited in the Environmental Impact Assessment schedule have not started. He then asks Mai to confirm if this is so or not.

Because the ECP states at page 3 of 29, “this clearance does not absolve the Developer from first ensuring that they do not enter into any contract, sub-contract, or any arrangement with any other cruise line company that has not first obtained written environmental clearance from the Department of the Environment, or any other agency requiring input in relation to the proper management of the cruise sector,” Herrera asks Mai to confirm if a cruise line has received environmental clearance from the Department of the Environment and entered into a contract with Portico. As has been reported, Royal Caribbean Group in May this year signed an MOU to indicate its support and partnership with Portico on the project. Herrera ends his letter stating that if the terms and conditions of the ECP have not been complied with and implementation started, “can you please inform us and the Belizean public why Portico’s environmental clearance not been revoked as is provided for under the ECP.”

Interestingly, a leak of the minutes of the February 2, 2021 NEAC meeting indicates that several members expressed concerns, particularly about insufficient and inadequate information submitted by the developer regarding a manatee management plan. Two members thought it premature to grant environmental clearance at that time, and three others requested more time to provide their response as they would have to consult higher ups. At the end of the discussion, however, environmental clearance was granted in a phased approach. This meant that the developer would have to comply with requirements and obtain permits stipulated under phase one before proceeding to other phases. One of the first requirements was to seek permission from the Lands and Survey Department for the use of the seabed to create land for the construction of an artificial peninsula, retreat island, jetties, over-the-water structures and access channel. This past Tuesday, June 27, the Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow told the media he had confirmed with the Minister of Natural Resources that such approval has not been granted to date. Minister of Sustainable Development, Hon. Orlando Habet described the intended use of the seabed as sea reclamation to build in the area and then create an island. He added that due to the large nature of the project, the proposal included significant dredging for the construction to take place. He reiterated that because environmental approval was granted in a phased approach, only if the developer complied with phase one could they move to the next phase.