Government has awarded another major multi-million dollar contract to Imer Hernandez; it is for the paving of the Coastal Road and for the rehabilitating of bridges. The value is over one hundred and thirty million dollars and works are expected to be completed in thirty-six months. Also this morning, another contract was signed for works on the Caracol Road; it was awarded to Belize Roadway Construction and A&N Construction Limited. Here is News Five's Isani Cayetano.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The paving of the Coastal Road, approximately thirty-six miles of highway is set to commence following the signing of a contract today in Belmopan. Through a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank and grant funding from the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund, that stretch of road which is often used as a short cut from Belize to Stann Creek districts will be paved. It will also see the rehabilitation and reconstruction of ten bridges across various creeks and rivers along the highway.
Rene Montero, Minister of Works
"The construction works will generally follow the existing road alignment and will only deviate in areas where improvement to the horizontal alignment is required for safety. The road which commences at the Coastal Highway/George Price Highway intersection will have an improved T-junction intersection to better channelize traffic movement from the newly upgraded road. The end of the Coastal Highway, where it intersects the Hummingbird Highway, will also see major improvement with a new roundabout intersection."
The contract for that project, approved by CDB, was awarded to Imer Hernandez Development Company in the amount of roughly sixty-three million dollars for Lot One and seventy million dollars for Lot Two. It is expected to be completed in thirty-six months. Also this morning, Minister of Works Rene Montero also signed contracts for works to be done on the Caracol Road. That highway will be built using monies from a loan granted by the OPEC Fund for International Development. That contract was awarded to Belize Roadway Construction and A&N Construction Limited for thirty-eight million and fourteen million dollars respectively.
Rene Montero
"The Caracol project is very important because it will benefit five villages in the area, namely Cristo Rey, San Antonio, Seven Miles, Three Miles and Georgeville. Also, these areas are agricultural areas and also a large majority of people living in this area depend on jobs from resorts. They are involved in tourism. Also, a lot of tour guides will be able to get employment in the area and we feel that Caracol has a lot of potential in terms of increased tourism coming into the area and also it will benefit the farmers in the area because it will reduce time for them to reach to their farm and to go deliver their produce to the market."
The road will be completed with modern ancillary safety features, including high visibility road signs, edge markers, lane markings and safety rails. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
There was a whole lot to say about the soundness of a contract that the Senate Wants him to review. That is for Phase Two of the Caracol Road paving from Blancaneux Lodge to Caracol. There was some dispute about the phasing of the project:..
Mark Lizarraga- Senator "But when we look at all these documents I have been having the greatest of difficulty reconciling one with the next because there is no consistency in the plan, there is no consistency in the numbers, there is no consistency in the descriptions. In this document that Dr. Barnett sent to us it said section 1 was for 18 kilometers, section 2 was for 24, and it gave descriptions of where it was. When you add up the two sections they are talking about 34.6 kilometers. But I see that the terms, in fact, have changed. Contrary to the law of the land, we have not been provided with the documents that we should be provided for all of these contracts for over $5 million. And now you question why we have the gall. The leader of government business has challenged us to open up and stand up and talk out when we see things are wrong well this is what we do here. And this is what we do here today. But please, man, how many hundreds of millions, how many billions of dollars have been spent and we don't know. That's my point. Please, you have to see the outrage that one feels as a parliamentarian when one cannot answer as to what it is we are doing with the people's money."
Dr. Carla Barnett- Senator "I did circulate early last year what was the feasibility study. That was done...can I finish sir? Feasibility study with the design...can I please finish without interruption? Are you suggesting I will not tell the truth? Please sir, you cannot do that."
Speaker "Dr. Barnett, one second. If you are addressing a matter, address it to the chair."
Dr. Carla Barnett- Senator "The way it works, when a feasibility study is done, it is then passed on to decision makers who are a separate part of engineers and in this case its the project execution unit that oversees this and then they determine what the final solution will be. So exactly what you see in a feasibility study is not necessarily what you see in the final document. I have worked on many many projects. And a feasibility study is an input into the final decision making."
Michel Chebat - Senator "And so, the question Mr. President, is what happened to that first $20 million US dollars that we have approved, that was approved since March, Mr. President. Where is the accounting for these funds? Where is the report on what has been done with those funds. Is this the less transparency that the Attorney General earlier referred to? You see Mr. President, we come here time and time again and we are asked to approve motions for additional funds, yet there is no accounting to the people of Belize as to where these funds are going and how these funds are being used."
Godwin Hulse- Senator "My understanding is the first phase is ongoing, the second phase to commence. The coactive fund that put the $20 million US required that all the money for the entire project be in place before they dispersed any money on that phase."
Belize signs US $10 Million agreement for phase 2 of Caracol Road Project
The OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID, has signed a US$10 million public sector loan agreement with Belize, a nation on the eastern coast of Central America, to co-finance the second phase of a major transport project.
The 'Upgrading of Caracol Road Project, Phase II' will ease travel constraints and support socio-economic growth, particularly in the agriculture and tourism sectors.
It will improve a 43 km stretch of road and include the construction of eight bridges. The road section provides the sole link between the George price Highway (which originates in the country's largest city, Belize City) and the Caracol Archaeological Site in the Cayo district, one of Belize's most important tourism areas.
The OPEC Fund is partnering with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the government of Belize to finance this project.
"The OPEC Fund is pleased to help finance this project in support of Sustainable Development Goals eight and nine in particular, on decent work and economic growth, and on industry, innovation and infrastructure," said OPEC Fund's Director-General, Dr.
Abdulhamid Alkhalifa.
"The road is vital in providing income-generation opportunities for tens of thousands of people and is well-aligned with the government's recently-launched Comprehensive National Transportation Master Plan," he added.
Over its three decade-long partnership with Belize, OFID has approved US$141 million to support development in the Central American country, the majority of which has helped to strengthen the transport sector.
More money was today approved for the Caracol Road Project. The Supplementary Appropriation Bill taken to the House includes an additional one point five million dollars for the Caracol Road. Tens of millions of dollars have already been allocated and approved for the project.
From the debate over the Supplementary Appropriations Bill #4, the Leader of the Opposition took issue with the fact that the Ministry of Works is getting a little over 1.5 million dollars for construction works for the proposed road to Caracol.
As we told you, this road will cost tens of millions, and back when it was first introduced, the Opposition was among the first to criticize it saying that this money should be spent in areas of higher priority. Well, John Briceno declared today that if his party wins the next general election, he's not so sure that the PUP will support the project's continuation:
Hon. John Briceno, Opposition Leader "And so now they are in a hurry to be able to push to sign this contract, why are they hurrying if their term is pretty much up they could wait another month or two or three or four because the elections will come sooner or later but it has to come. We have said in this house that the issue of the Caracol road is a rip off it is something that we do not need we do support the first portion up to the entrance of Mountain Pine Ridge but going to rest and spending $180 million dollars, the PM's words not mine, in this house I think it is unconscionable that they are quickly trying to hurry to push to be able to sign contracts with people just because certain people want to enrich themselves. So I want to put these contractors on notice that they should be careful how they are investing in this contract because when we get into the government we are going to review that contract with effect to remove those funds to where the people really need. It can't be about infrastructure, it has to be about people, people are not eating, people are not working so I just want to put the ministry of works, I want to call their attention and the people who are trying to invest in this thing."
And speaking of disaster, we turn now to the financial disaster that
the COVID pandemic has caused for Belize. It meant massive amounts of
debt and a serious lack of funds for a country that's buckling under
societal and infrastructural demands, but how to choose?
Well, that's just what the Minister of Infrastructure and development
brought up yesterday when he suggested asking The OPEC Fund For
International Development, whether the loan secured for the Upgrade of
phase 3 the Caracol road could be used for something else.
"The Caracol road was broken down into various phases, the first phase was
from the junction of Georgeville all the way around to San Antonio and
bring back to Santa Elena. There is no concern with that, that will
continue. There is a second phase that goes from the junction to
Blancaneaux Lodge, that will also continue, there is a 3rd phase that goes
from Blancaneaux Lodge all the way to the Caracol ruin, that contract was
not awarded, meaning we didn't stop it but it was never awarded and that is
in the hands of cabinet at the moment for cabinet to decide if that is a
priority for the country under this economic situation that we're in and
under the COVID reality that we are facing. It is my hope that we convince
the lending institution that it is not a priority and that we can
renegotiate to have that sum of money utilized where it is more needed. As
you are aware, after the storms that passed through our national
infrastructure road way is in a horrible situation and I believe that is
priority at this point in time but we are a democracy and in a democracy it
is not my decision to make, cabinet sets policy and one of many members of
cabinet and so cabinet will have to decide in their wisdom what is
priority. I can say though that the mandate given us to us and our
manifesto that we proposed before the general election was to make sure
that we backed up the agro-productive sector of this country. Apart from
maintaining our existing highways, the emphasis will definitely be put on
our farm roads."
Upgrades to the Caracol road are set to include the conversion of 26.4
miles of current gravel to an all-weather paved road. It's also meant
to see the construction of five double lane concrete bridges, and the
upgrade of access roads to Caracol from Santa Elena and Georgeville.
The paving of the Caracol Road in the Cayo District has created concerns in the area of sustainable development. The concerns are for the prospective businesses that this road enhancement will attract in the future, and the detriments they would pose to the environment. Our newsroom was invited by the Ministry of Sustainable Development to get a first-hand look at the area. We join Vejea Alvarez for the story.
Another mandate of the Ministry is picking up the construction work
that the UDP left behind. This includes the Caracol Road, which the PUP
were adamantly against before taking office. Minister Espat explained
that while he still does not believe it is a priority, the work must
continue because there is no simple way out.
Jules Vasquez
"The PUP made grand statement that we're going to redirect funds, this is a
road to nowhere, but when you get in there you find out it's a significant
project, and we were on the road earlier and it's a massive, spectacular
highway. How are you going to stop that?"
Hon. Julius Espat - Minister of Infrastructure, Housing, and
Development
"You can't stop it."
Jules Vasquez
"You can't stop it so Is that something you've learned because you all kept
saying we're going to stop it."
Hon. Julius Espat
"Well I still want to. Why am I saying this? The people at the time, the
policy makers that decided that this was a priority I believe was an
erroneous proposal, it was not a priority, it is still not a priority. I
believe they are more important roads that could have been done to help the
agro-productive sector. That's my humble opinion. So, I was given the
mandate as the Minister of infrastructure to go in to see what we will do,
that was a mandate that was given to us at the first Cabinet meeting. So we
spoke to the lending institution."
Jules Vasquez
"Which is the Kwaite Fund and the OPEC Fund."
Hon. Julius Espat
"And we told the listen to me, we don't want to continue the latter phases,
because they had already given out 1a and 1b, that is the Georgeville to
San Antonio loop."
Jules Vasquez
"That's about 16 miles and another 4 miles right, 4.5."
Hon. Julius Espat
"And so the lending institution wrote back to us categorically stating that
you can't stop a project, you can, but I you stop it then it puts you in
the... in the eyes of them they won't lend you money in the future. And it
takes maybe about approximately 5 to 8 years to be put back on the list
again. Now you have to understand the Kwaite and the OPEC fund have been
partners with Belize for a long time. And they are offering the best
rates."
Jules Vasquez
"2%!"
Hon. Julius Espat
"So, what we did is saying you know what we can't stop it, it will have a
long-term effect with Belize so we said we can't stop it but can we
renegotiate the terms."
And in the renegotiation, the ministry is planning to save millions of
dollars. He explained how that will be possible.
Jules Vasquez
"So, what type of savings have you all got from that?"
Hon. Julius Espat
"28 million dollars we have saved."
Jules Vasquez
"And what will be done with those funds?"
Hon. Julius Espat
"We just won't borrow it. You won't draw it down but then if you save 28
million, that is, if you look at the value of the whole contract that's 28
million from the last half I'm saying are you now skimping on the project.
As you are the size of the road was far more than any road width that we
have in the country. And the devastation of the environment we believe was
far-fetched, was too much, and so what we did was reduce the width of the
road to the width that we drive on the western and norther highway, which
is the accepted width."
Jules Vasquez
"So, you have not turned a superhighway into a picado."
Hon. Julius Espat
"No, and the bridges that were originally designed, we did not change. So
that was one phase, we adjusted the scope of work and then we negotiated
rates. So, it was a combination of things."
The Government of Belize secured a Loan from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) for the Caracol Road Upgrading Project.
This project, located in Western Belize, was appraised by the OPEC Fund for International Development and presented to its board of directors who approved a loan to the Government of Belize. The Caracol Road Upgrading Project comprises two Phases with approximately equal lengths of 42km. Phase 1 commenced in December 2019 with the signing of Lots 1A and 1B.
The recently amalgamated Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing conducted a review of the inherited Caracol Road Upgrading Project as one of least priority and learned that the Government of Belize had an active loan with clearly defined expiration dates. The ministry was advised by its colleague Ministry of Finance and Economic Development that it should continue with the active loan and based on existing commitment with its funding partner execute the remaining works under Phase 1, funded by the OPEC Fund. However, consultations with the Kuwait Fund, Belize's financial partner for Phase 2 culminated in an agreement to defer Phase 2 for a year as Belize was experiencing an economic downturn, actively responding to the pandemic and had not yet drawn upon the loan.
Therefore, a comprehensive design review of those portions of the Caracol Road Project that were not under construction, Lot 1C and three Lots under Phase 2, was done and resulted in substantial cost savings. Combined with a renegotiated supervision consultancy, a total savings of approximately BZ$28 million was achieved, a portion of which is reflected in Lot 1C.
The Caracol Road Upgrading Project - Section 1C is approximately 7km (4.3miles). On the ground this is from Blancaneaux Lodge Line intersection to the Pinol Line intersection.
The project includes the construction of earthen embankments as foundation for improved horizontal and vertical alignment, crushed gravel pavements, and two (3.35m) lanes with (0.5m) shoulders and a double bituminous chip-seal wearing course. The road drainage scheme will also be upgraded through the replacement of undersized culverts with concrete pipes. Three bridges will be constructed at Privassion Creek, Oak Burn Creek, and Pinol Creek. All bridges are designed to American Association of State Highway and Transportation (AASHTO) standards and are of reinforced concrete build with pre-cast girder elements. Additional improvements include the addition of modern safety features including high visibility signs, road edge markers, painted lane markings, and safety rails as needed.
With the no objection from the funding agency, the Government of Belize signed a contract for the Caracol Road Upgrading Project with Belize Roadway Construction - Section 1C, in the amount of BZ$12,000,152.27. It is anticipated that works will commence immediately. The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development & Housing - Project Execution Unit while NARCO Consultants of Kuwait will provide technical and administrative supervision.
The Coastal Road is seeing something it has never seen before - and that's a fresh coat of pavement. Last week paving started paving in an area right after the Manatee junction at around mile 24 on the famously bad road.
Works are well underway to fully pave the under-under-utilised road and make it an all weather highway. Apart from pavement the replacement off a number of bridges is also underway.
The Coastal was first marked out in the late 80's and has never been. It will take about half hour off the trip from Belize City to Dangriga.
Many tourists filling up hotel beds will likely be traveling down the spectacular new Mountain Pine Ridge Road.
The new government briefly put the brakes on the project when they were first elected - because while in opposition they called it the waste of a road to nowhere.
But, it's a project already in motion with concessionary financing in place. And today the Minister told the house how they proceeded with a slightly stripped down project:
Over a hundred million dollars is being invested to upgrade the Coastal Road, also referred to as the Coastal Highway. With construction works well underway, the upgrade is sixty percent complete. But already there are discussions between various ministries to ensure road safety, from security, education and enforcement standpoints. Capacity building among the enforcement units is already in place so that when the road officially opens in the months ahead, it would be smooth driving. News Five's Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The coastal road has for years been used to access the remote village of Gales Point Manatee in the Belize Rural Central area of the Belize District. While it wasn't ideal for smaller vehicles to traverse, it is an alternative route to access southern Belize, cutting down travelling time drastically. Now for almost two years, since February 2020 when ground was officially broken, road works have been ongoing to upgrade the Coastal Highway. About sixty percent has been completed with bridges installed - the majority asphalted with bus sheds and speed bumps set in place.
Peter Williams, Operations Officer, Department of Transport
"The Ministry of Infrastructure Development will be putting in the necessary road furniture, as we refer to them; the reflectors on the road, the markings, the signs, the crash barriers - all of that will be a component on this highway to increase the safety of the highway."
From a policing standpoint, it is no secret that several illegal drug plane landings have taken place on the Coastal Road. But then in recent times, traffic fatalities have been on a rise. So the police will be teaming up with the Department of Transport to maintain a presence along the thirty-six-mile stretch.
ASP Jerome Steven,National Traffic Commander, Belize Police Department
"As soon as this road is completed, we will be out here with the highway patrol. We will be patrolling within the areas so as to keep the traffic from speeding. We will be mounting various checkpoints within the area at different locations so that we can assist in having this area a more safer place to slow down vehicles so as not to cause so much fatalities. As we know, recently we have a spoke in fatalities all over, countrywide so we will be put in that into place. We'll have to have our presence on this road 24/7. It is going to be shared between Dangriga and the rural area of Hattieville. As you know there is a substation in Mahogany Heights, so they will also be making frequent checks within this jurisdiction."
The project is expected to be completed in 2022 and when that happens, a multisectoral approach will be undertaken to ensure that the integrity of the road is not only maintained, but that road rules are enforced.
Peter Williams
"The two main contributing factors to road traffic collisions are driver behaviour and enforcement. So when this highway is completed, we want to be able to tap into ways on how we can cure the malpractices of drivers and the primary way that we can do this is through our education system. Currently, road safety is now a part of the school curriculum."
Sylvian Neal, Office Administrator, Second Road Safety Project
"The second road safety project was a part of the government's way of responding to the road safety issues that we have in the country. What we want to tell the public is that the road is always a shared responsibility. I drive for you and you drive for me, but we also have to take everybody into account, even the pedestrians. We are dealing a lot with the softer intervention when it comes to the role of the project and a part of our intervention is awareness - education and awareness. We try to put out a lot of these commercials that try to tell people the proper way to do things."
Operations Officer at the Department of Transport, Peter Williams says that there is a review of driving manual and driving test. The capacity of the department will also be enhanced with the use of technology.
Peter Williams
"We are looking at introducing a new driving manual, we are looking at upgrading the driving license test and so on, so that we can begin to put this information to the public so that they can understand what the rules of the roads are. We do have the TruCAM speed guns which are the top speed guns in the market right now. It is very user-friendly and has advanced technology. These devices will be used; we are waiting for the training from the manufacturers the same way with the breathalyzers we went to the manufacturing company and we got that master level training, we are going to do something similar with the speed guns. And once we have gotten that training, our officers will be deployed with the use of those devices. Currently, there is this misconception that there is no law that governs the use of the speed guns or the breathalyzer and I want to state categorically that that is not true; that is a fallacy. We do have the necessary legislation in place to proceed with that. In fact, we have had several convictions before primarily with the use of breathalyzers. So yes when this highway is completed - and not just this highway, but all our highways - we will be utilizing those devices."
Similar road furniture and enforcement measures will be implemented on the Chan Chen and Sarteneja Roads that are also being upgraded in Corozal at this time.
This morning, CDB President Dr. Gene Leon, accompanied by his delegation, Government of Belize representatives and engineers, conducted an inspection of the ongoing works on the Coastal Road. The group stopped at various locations including the newly constructed Manatee Bridge and the Gales Point Manatee junction. The project is partially funded by a BZ$68 million grant from the Government of the United Kingdom through the CDB-administered United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Fund and a BZ$73.2 million loan from CDB. The proposed upgrade includes the construction and paving of the 36 miles of road and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of 10 bridges across various creeks and rivers along the highway.
The upgrade of the Coastal Highway has been a little tricky. Also inherited from the previous administration, works are approximately seventy percent done. It is estimated to be fully completed within a year's time, as the government is trying to ensure that the road is not prone to flooding.
Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
"The coastal highway, again an inherited project by us. That's a difficult one though cause that one is in a real flood zone. Even with the U.K. government, when we came in, there were complaints that the sizes of the culverts were not adequate for the animals to pass. And we sat with the U.K. government, we sat with all the environmentalists and we made some structural changes to the culverts so that they can follow the specifications that were recommended. That financing we did it on our own. The supervisors are the same from here, Politecnica. The contractor is different; the supervisors from the Ministry of Works is still the project execution unit. The update report that I have received, they are on schedule. They had a couple set back when we had some of the flooding, they had a couple set back during COVID but they have made up the time and they are on schedule."
F.C.D. Concerns About the Impact of Upgrading Caracol Road
Infrastructure works continue along the Caracol Road from Georgeville through the Chiquibul Forest. While the works are still concentrated at this time in the Pine Ridge, F.C.D. Executive Director Rafael Manzanero worries that when completed, it will give access to not only those engaged in illegal activities in the Chiquibul, but human footprint in the Mountain Pine Ridge.
Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, F.C.D.
"Once it is moving more further inside of course that will create more access. In advance of time, we along with the forestry department have instituted a radio rangers also in the Baldy Beacon area, which is going to be one of those access that can lead people to reach to the eastern flank of the Chiquibul national park. So way in advance what we have started to do, and that basically have been over one year and a half of planning and coordination with the forest department to institute a human presence for patrols and surveillance up in that area because there will be more human activity, there will be more of the human footprint. And we already know that an increase of hunters and other visitations is already occurring along the Mountain Pine Ridge and so yes, it certainly will have an impact as it evolves even more further into the Chiquibul zone."
Road construction to Chiquibul and Caracol Archaeological Reserve🌿 is underway. This new development will bring challenges and preparations must be ensued to curtail the impacts. We expect that the construction company will follow the Environmental Compliance Plan which is aimed at reducing impacts on the delicate and sensitive environment
And the next mega-project that the MIDH is working on is the Caracol Road in the Cayo District - a long winding road to the iconic Maya Temple. And though that project is still in progress, today Minister Espat says they may soon need to do a soft opening. Here's what he told us.
Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure "We were planning to wait for the entire road to be completed to do an opening. But I am recommending to the staff that we do a soft opening because the San Antonio area is open already. Up to Pinol is completed. And so I am I am thinking that this area will do an opening for that section and then wait for the second section to finished and be completed to do a final opening."
"That's a wow. That's another beautiful area. This road to me and I have you've heard me in the past. I criticize more the Caracol on this one. Why? Not because of the engineering of it. But this road has serious economic benefits and it helps communities. The the Caracol Road that goes to San Antonio and Georgeville I also was one of them that I agreed with that part."
"But the part that leads from Pinole all the way to Caracol, I would have loved that road to be George Price highway or something else where we use it on an everyday basis. It was just a matter of priority. But again, it's there. Contracts have been drawn. We had to be responsible and completed."
The opinions and views expressed on this board are the subjective opinions of Ambergris Caye Message Board members and not of the Ambergris Caye Message Board its affiliates, or its employees.
AmbergrisCaye.com 
Mark Lizarraga- Senator
"I did circulate early last year what was the feasibility study. That was done...can I finish sir? Feasibility study with the design...can I please finish without interruption? Are you suggesting I will not tell the truth? Please sir, you cannot do that."
Michel Chebat - Senator
"My understanding is the first phase is ongoing, the second phase to commence. The coactive fund that put the $20 million US required that all the money for the entire project be in place before they dispersed any money on that phase."
Hon. John Briceno, Opposition Leader
Hon. Julius Espat - Minister of Infrastructure, Housing, and
Development
The Coastal Road is seeing something it has never seen before - and that's a fresh coat of pavement. Last week paving started paving in an area right after the Manatee junction at around mile 24 on the famously bad road.
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