Cruise terminal project slated for clearance mid-May

A US$25mn terminal construction project at the port of Belize is expected to receive environmental clearance by mid-May, environmental consulting firm Tunich-Nah owner and manager José "Pepe" García told BNamericas. Tunich-Nah had previously submitted the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project to a committee formed by the department of the environment (DOE). The committee approved about 95% of the document, but asked the consultant to submit an addendum detailing the location of bulk storage tanks for the import and export of fuel, said García. This addendum is slated for submission sometime Thursday (Apr 19), after which deliberations will take one to two weeks, added the manager. After this, the project developer - a joint venture formed in July 2005 between local port operator Belize Port Ltd and the Miami and London-based Carnival Corporation (NYSE, LSE: CLC) - must sign a compliance plan for the project, expected to take place sometime in May, after which works can begin, said García. The project is slated to take 24 months to carry out, and will include the construction of two cruise terminals to accommodate as many as 3,000 tourists a day from ships arriving at the port, as well as a 338-acre Free Zone for commercial merchandizing businesses and light manufacture and assembly, BNamericas reported previously. While Tunich-Nah's EIA states that the Belize Port Ltd/Carnival project will have only "minor impacts" on the local community relative to its social benefits, advocates such as the Audubon Society have debated this claim, previous reports indicated. The DOE found previously that Carnival and Belize Port Ltd were engaging in illegal land reclamation and brought them to court for such activities. Prime Minister Said Musa intervened before the trial and issued a pardon to the companies in exchange for their consent to carry out an EIA before engaging in further activities. Nonetheless, the Audubon Society has alleged that such activities have continued unabated.