7 News Belize

What’s Special About Special Development Area
posted (July 11, 2019)
If you travel on Lake Independence Boulevard with any regularity, you will have seen the ongoing construction work on the western side of the Boulevard. Well, that's the new Ministry of Finance, a 15 million dollar building - paid for by taxpayer dollars. We found out about that and everything else that's happening on the Lake I Boulevard - at what is now designated as a Special Development Area. Jules Vasquez has the story:

Jules Vasquez reporting
The Lake Independence Special Development Area, it's 50 acres of consolidated government land - and the signs are aggressively advertising land available for lease. Even if this passerby didn't seem too interested, BIL is hoping the mega developments in the area including this new Ministry of Finance building will be a pull:

Christy Mastry, PROJECT MANAGER - BIL
"What we started with is the first government building which is right behind us to the back of me on the left hand side is the foundation going in for the ministry of finance building. That's going to be a 50,000 square foot building that will be 6 storeys and that will be housing the GST business tax and treasury, consolidating finance as well as a press office floor. So whenever we have conferences or any government associated press conferences we can house that there as well."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"How much is the quantum for that project and who is the contractor?"

Christy Mastry
"The total cost for that project is 15 million Belize dollars and the contractor is a joint venture. It was a designed built contract, so some of the design works needed to be completed and it's a joint venture between David Medina's Construction and International Environments Ltd."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"What sort of vigilance and oversight is being put into it? One always worries and even the economist intelligence unit averted to this that in an election year or in the last year of a government there tends to be overspending, because for many operators it's the last time at the trough. Explain to me what type of oversight is being put in to make sure there is not gross overspending and that it meets the target and the timeline?"

Christy Mastry
"Well some of the critical things we are doing is that even though we are saying that it is a 15 million dollar building, Belize Infrastructure Limited is is sourcing the entire steel frame, the glass, the roofing, all of the gutter systems from Reed Steel. A company out of the UK which many people are familiar with. They done a lot of steel frames throughout the country and so a third of that budget is directly being contracted through Reed and so we know a third of that budget is locked in and we know that price and it goes unchanged. We have Doug Walker from Professional Engineering Services Ltd., a very reputable engineer who is the project manager for the entire site. He has to come out here and assess the works done and he has to sign off on any payments certificates that BIL even begins to entertained. BIL has been for the last 4 years as we've been under scrutiny in the past, have all of our audits published online, so we have all our audits at the final price point every single contract we signed. That include all final change orders. So when this project is done it will be open just like everything else to auditing. So I think we keep it as transparent as we can by being able to release everything quite proudly online to the general public for full access at all times."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Explain to me what you all are trying to reach with the design?"

Christy Mastry
"I think what we're looking at for this design was as any government consolidated area we've seen throughout the region, particularly through Bahamas or Barbados or Trinidad when you travel, you find these buildings that really represent the government. So a very federal looking building. Its important for security - that it's a stronger building because it's the ministry of finance, but it also has to stand for something and live over the test of time. You need it to represent a government of the day and a government 50 years from this day. So we r4eally looked at approaching this design, we're taking differences from the Caribbean region that have very elegant federal buildings and bringing that into Belize City which we really haven't had since let's say maybe the courthouse of its day."

The other important factor is drainage - a major drainage canal runs through the area to the Burdon Canal.

Christy Mastry
"The way we really wanted to treat the canal was not with a hard concrete liner. We wanted to make sure we created the canal walls with pervious material to allow water to flow through there more clearly and we also have design an 8 foot sidewalk along the entire length of the cabal because we are very much hoping to create the park in the center of the space and the canal as a green belt connector so that you can really come out and use these open green spaces for exercise, recreation, for the children to come out. We've excavated the canal and we've clean out all the siltation to the bottom. We are also laying abed of gravel at the base of the canal and as I said we are creating the pervious baskets on the edge so it really allows as much water to filter, permeate and percolate through the existing surface."

And while work is well underway on the drainage, it hasn't yet started on the International Bus Terminal:

Christy Mastry
"The bus terminal is slightly beyond on the northern side of the new road beyond the ministry of finance and we are really hoping to put the bus terminal out as a bid project as a public private partnership by the end of this year."

And that's what BIL hopes will attract investors to the site:

Christy Mastry
"We currently have advertised two parcels of this master plan up for leasing and this is really an invitation to anyone in the private sector interested in developing within this site. We are creating the opportunity for simple land leases with a starting from anywhere from 15 to 20 years. It must be noted that we will be considering and allowing the land to lease as a mortgage to the bank. We would like any interested parties to send a letter to our office no later than and we've extended the deadline July 19th and all they have to do is sent a letter of intent. With that letter of intent is that they are interested in building something or finding more about the development in the area. There have been a lot of call and questions and there is mainly curiosity because this is first of its kind, so we are hoping we can peal more interest. There are smaller parcels but it is important to note that once the ministry of finance comes online, the bus terminal comes online, the critical mass of population in this area will support any kind of business or services."

It's an ambitious vision, and it will be interesting to see if the area builds out as envisioned:

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Do you think in 20 years from now that the development that you all foresee in this area on all those beautiful drawings that you have sent me - do you think that will be realized or the alternate could happen that oy could have just been a vision that never gain traction with the private sector?"

Christy Mastry
"I think it will be realized. I am optimistic it will be realized, because we've put a very good framework and a very good pathway to its realization. I do believe that it will depend on whomever if BIL continues or whomever takes my seat after I retire, because this is a very long term project. But I think if anyone is ambitious enough to see another very important business park or central hub of this city transpire, that they will take this into their umbrella whatever politico aside that they can see this out to fruition."

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