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Commissioner of Lands Wilbur Vallejos says there’s nothing unusual about a land transaction in Belmopan that’s raised some eyebrows.  

34 lots along Phillip Goldson Boulevard - a few of them right in front of the Lands Department - have been issued on the road reserve.

Vallejos says the area was de-reserved based on the recommendation from the city council on the advice of its technocrats and engineers. He says the council decided that the area will not be used for any further expansion and they decided to convert it into lots.  

And then the lots in this prime real estate, road frontage area were sold by the Ministry of Natural Resources for a thousand dollars each. Seems very low for prime property, but Vallejos said that is the standardized price at which the current government sells land at a social rate. Now, it seems that those who bought the land don’t need a social rate, but Vallejos insists this is standard procedure and price for cities. 

He said the the new owners brought the land based on the recommendations of the city council, because it’s a city council project. 

As for the fact that the properties went from application to title in just one day, Vallejos again insists that is now pretty much standard in the Lands Department - one to two days from application to title. We’ll keep following this one.