Minister Says Environmental Compliance for Caye Chapel Project Granted

Over a week ago, you heard Senator Valerie Woods raised concerns  in the Senate over a proposed beach development at Caye Chapel. The proposed works include a beach club and beach area measuring nine hundred and eighty-five feet long by ninety-eight feet wid. The concern centered on the point that the project was green-lighted by the Department of Environment without the standard Environmental Impact Assessment. Today Minister of State in the Ministry with responsibility of the Environment Omar Figueroa explained what was done. He says the entire project never got the environmental clearance – but that the D.O.E. met with the investors about a pilot project.

Omar Figueroa

Omar Figueroa, Minister of State, Environment

“Well, the entire project didn’t get environmental clearance, right. The entire project still requires an EIA to be completed. What happen is, that this is a major investment and the investors wanted to do pilot project within the investment. And so the department of Environment sat down with them and we developed an E.C.P. for that particular project and one of the requirements of the E.C.P. be would that the E.I.A. for the larger project would be expedited and that should be finished within the next six to eight months, I believe.”