New Dormitory Facilities Handed Over to the B.D.F.  

Today, soldiers at the Belize Defense Force gathered to celebrate the unveiling of their newly built sleeping quarters. The building was overdue for renovations, and for several years it had been in a dilapidated state with a kitchen that was deemed a health hazard and unfit for use in 2019. The renovations were funded by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, which has allocated fifteen point five million dollars towards the improvement of the B.D.F. Doctor Osmond Martinez, C.E.O. of the Ministry of Economic Development, spoke more about this endeavor.

 

Dr. Osmond Martinez, C.E.O., Ministry of Economic Development

“Today, I’m so happy that we completed our first dormitory. The second one is almost completed. And the kitchen is well on its way. And we will make sure that it’s not only being done and being completed this year, but that it will be completed at the highest standard. One that you will be proud of, but at the same time, it can serve as a humanitarian support in case of any natural disaster especially in the Belize district. The budget that was allocated to invest or the funds came from CABEI. And there is a total amount of resources that has been allocated to the BDF. And the budget resources is a fifteen point five million Belize dollars that you all will be receiving from CABEI. And that represents almost twenty percent of the total project. So, a lot of emphasis is being put in working with the BDF. It is important to highlight as well that ten troop lifting vehicles have been handed over to the BDF, computers, printers, and map platters and radios and antennas. But it is also important to highlight that our next step is to continue with the Belizario Camp in Punta Gora and the, I forgot the name, but the camp in central form, in Cayo. So we will continue to do some refurbishing in both camps. The consultant recently completed the design of both camps. And we will proceed to do that work hopefully, especially in Punta Gorda. I think the plan is to start somewhere around August of this year.”