CDB and Infrastructure Ministry Review Progress on Key Road Projects

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing (MIDH) met earlier this week to review projects and chart the way forward in future undertakings.  Reps from the CDB have been in the country since Monday for its annual portfolio review with a focus on key development projects and financial strategies. Among those projects are the 6^th Road (Coastal Highway Project), Phillip Goldson Highway, and the 8th Road Project.  According to Chief Engineer, Evondale Moody, Belize has been commended for the successful executions of projects funded by the CDB.  

Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH: “They’re one of our key lending agencies and they have been around with us for quite some while. So most of the infrastructure projects that have been implemented in Belize has been implemented through funds received from the Caribbean Development Bank. So this is the high level team that has come from the bank.  And honestly, we’re very pleased and proud as a country to know that they have recognized us as I believe the best in the Caribbean, to be honest, in terms of project implementation, using funds and resources from the Caribbean Development Bank.  As you may be aware, the two projects that we discussed with them yesterday was the sixth road Coastal Highway Upgrading Project and also the seventh road the Philip Goldson Highway Upgrading Project and both those projects have been successfully completed by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing and so based on the visits that they have made over the last three years we have been successful in the completion of these projects. And so we’re very pleased to have received those remarks from the bank as well. All right, so both the sixth and seventh road projects were funded by the Caribbean Development Bank with funding as well from UKSIF they were key in the funding of both projects because they provided grants to the Government of Belize for both projects and so they played a significant role in the completion of these projects as well.  As we mentioned, there is an eighth road as well and that eight road project is the George Price Highway Upgrading Project. In discussion with them, as I said, I believe they have indicated that the project was successful and they were very pleased with the outcome of the project. The type of surface dressing that we utilize on that project was the chip and seal. However, that was the way it was designed at the time when the project was presented to the bank. And so we had to follow through with that type of pavement. Of course, we have the hot mix that we’re now using, and you also have concrete. We have concreted a few sections along the coastal highway, which are basically the floodways that we have discussed on numerous occasions. But the surface dressing that we have placed is holding up. It’s doing well. And where we had deficiencies was where we had some flooding  as a result of land clearing and so forth. And so those areas we have rehabilitated and converted those sections to concrete. And we’re also looking at some other sections that we want to concrete as well so that we could allow water to pass over in the event we have  excessive flooding.”

On the second day of the CDB Portfolio Review, the focus was on economic and social resilience, with key contributions from the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Belize Social Investment Fund (BSIF), Ministry of Education, and Resilient Rural Belize (RRB). CDB representatives also met with officials from the Ministry of Economic Transformation, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Technology.