Government Eyes Upgrades at Port of Belize

The Government of Belize is looking into upgrading the operations at the Port of Belize. As we reported earlier this month, business owners have been complaining that they are facing long wait times to get their cargo because of various issues at the port including changes to working hours and limited access to heavy machinery. CEO of the Ministry of Investment Narda Garcia addressed the issue this week, saying that the government is committed to upgrading the cargo facilities at the port. She noted that the proposal for the expansion of the port to include a cruise docking facility is still being discussed.

Narda Garcia, CEO, Office of the Prime Minister: “The port is being looked at by government to see what they’re gonna do with the port. There’s no doubt  there has to be an upgrade in the cargo side of it. But I think there are still proposals to do cargo and cruise at the same location but again we have some environmental issues there any which way you put it so I don’t know. I can find out and se at what stage they are to be able to comment. Perhaps maybe Minister Mahler is more in tune with what is happening there. I know he wants the cruise port to come on stream but it’s also extremely important that our cargo side of it is upgraded and is technology takes over for a lot of what is happening. It’s only the right thing to do.”

Government moved to acquire the port in December 2023.