News is the The Stake Bank Cruise Docking facility had gone silent for a while - but tonight we can report that it's now going full speed ahead.
First, a little bit of background: Developer Mike Feinstein signed a so-called "definitive agreement" with government 11 months ago to develop the Stake Bank Cruise Docking facility. Construction was supposed to start by the end of 2017 - and it was promised to open by January of 2019. But, it seems putting the financing for the mega-project together took a little more time.
But, that period is over now: today developer Mike Feinstein told 7News that his group has secured financing of 82 million US dollars for the first phase of development. He says that the financing was arranged by Atlantic Bank and comes from a consortium of international investors which do not include any of the major cruise lines. Feinstein added that he retains controlling interests.
He says they will break ground out at Stake Bank Caye in a few weeks and work will commence after that.
At the signing of the Definitive Agreement In August of 2017, he outlined the key points of the project:
FILE: August 25, 2017
Mike Feinstein
"The Investment is 50 million US dollars and its two docks to accommodate 4 ships. A big development approximately 17 acres of development and there a few stations marina, different companies to the project. But the total cost we estimate at 50 million US dollars. First of all we are hoping to start right after the hurricane season ends. We start mobilizing very shortly, but actually start construction towards the end of the year and it takes 18 months to build these docks and during that 18 months we will finish the upland development. So several crews working out there at the same time. There are people working on the dock, people working on the marina, people working on the upland development, so it's like a thousand people at any given time."
"I can guarantee you that in 18 months ships will be docking at Stakebank and that is the objective to keep this industry secure. Many of you don't know, but larger ships are already bypassing Belize, so that is how important this docking facility is. So we are securing this industry once and for all."
That was from August of 2017, so to update it to now, where construction will take 18 to 24 months, we'd say that the project should be ready for the Cruise season of 2020.
Feinstein told us today that Phase 2 will extend the project to Drowned Caye.
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