And while that bubbles in the south, on a parallel track in the Belize District, the Barrow Administration has given the green light to Mike Feinstein's Stake Bank Project. A bill introduced yesterday in the house is named the Stake Banks Cruise Docking Facility Development Bill. The Prime Minister explained how it will work:..
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"This of course is the enabling legislation that will now permit the developer to begin construction on the new cruise port to be located at Stake Bank. The idea is to locate the new cruise port there and in fact to build the causeway to Belize City. All relevant environmental impact assessments have been submitted and had been examined by the Department of the Environment. It appears that the developer has the financing lined up and so with the passage of this bill after we come back to the House on the next occasion - it appears that construction will start imminently."
"What the bill does is to exempt the developer from income tax and GST - the usual exemptions for a period of 20 years and it makes provision for the cruise facility to be declared a port of entry, It allows for the developer to collect cargo dues from all cruise ships that will call at the facility. The people in Big Creek and the people from the Belize City port also have the same as it were assist given to them, so there is nothing new there and then it provides for cruise ship passengers entering and leaving the facility to pay a port development fee which shall be shared between the developer and the government of Belize. The developer intends to move even before actual passage and we are looking at in terms of construction, not less than a thousand new jobs being created."
There is no word at this time as to whether Government will approve the duty free status Feinstein has requested for the project.
We are told that will be determined either for or against in the final agreement.
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