7 News Belize

Sparks Fly On Caracol Highway
posted (March 20, 2019)

And, similarly, the reviews were mixed for the loan for the road to Caracol - well above 100 million which will cut the first major highway through the Chiquibul forest:..

Hon. Osmany Salas - NGO Senator
"I do agree and I do support that the road to Caracol needs to be upgraded. It is a very important corridor for a number of reasons as leader of government business has indicated a couple of them but I want to reiterate the tourism element - it's highly used, a lot of traffic on that road, so that’s one. But also the national security implications of well upgraded, well maintained road that goes deep into our western forest. It's extremely important that we can get in there easily, quickly back and forth."

Hon. Elena Smith - Labour Senator
"In terms of infrastructure and from our standpoint, it seems as if though infrastructure is the priority of this government. We're not saying something is wrong with that but we're saying that there is also other priorities we should be looking at and I think we want to look carefully at how much we are taking on in terms of debt as a country and how much having the debt that we have at this point in time is going to affect our people and our people's livelihood - because that is quite key. The burden is going to be placed on a small group of person to be able to deal with these matters."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
"Mr. President, this is 180 million dollar project, that's what it's going to end up more or less at the end of this thing and yes there are communities along the road that fully deserve to have paved roads. We're not arguing about that whatsoever; but those communities do not extend all the way through the mountain pine ridge and to Caracol. So you could have paved right up to the junction, come back mile 6, come back to Georgeville - all those little villages there deserve it, they're farmers, they need to have access. How did we arrive at justifying the road from mile 8 to the airport, these are valid questions, valid questions in the context of a growing debt that sister Elena is talking about."

Hon. Valerie Woods - PUP Senator
"Is it the lack of an asphalt road 50 miles long that is preventing investment in that area? We don't know because we don't have the feasibility study before us - and then is it that we build it and they shall come? Is it the field of dreams approach when it comes to tourism here? When you look at the numbers going to Caracol, it is nothing in comparison going to several of the other areas. Is it that we want it to be more? Have we determined that - that area we want to turn into that type of destination?"

Hon. Steve Duncan - UDP Senator
"Also creating new avenues where the public can spread its wings and become creative and innovative in getting new things done in the country and to my mind, the Caracol Road is one such area. If we feel that it is such a beautiful area which I think it is, as you put a road like this in there, I am sure that there will be people, Belizeans who will see opportunities there to go and do things that maybe we don't have today."

Both loan motions were approved - and have gone through all their stages.

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