NGC Monopoly Necessary for Financial Sustainability of Project?

As you might remember, in 2021, the government amended the National Liquefied Petroleum Gas Project Act to let other companies import LPG. This change came after the act was initially passed under the former U.D.P. administration. However, the amendment required private companies wanting to import LPG to build an import facility with a storage capacity of one point five million U.S. gallons. CCJ Judge, Justice Peter Jamadar, sought clarity on why such a requirement was necessary. Here’s a snippet of the exchange between Justice Jamadar and Eamon Courtenay.

 

Eamon Courtenay, Attorney-At-Law

“The difficulty with two hundred and three hundred and a fifteen-thousand-gallon facility is that trucks come in everyday across the border. Everyday permits are applied for, and trucks are coming in over and over and over. One point five million dollars is essential for this project to be successful.”

 

Justice Peter Jamadar, CCJ Judge

“So the one point five was deemed sufficient to meet your security, supply, your cost analysis, what if a smaller operator said ok you are taking care of Belize, this is enough to meet your needs, I want to do a three hundred, that is adding on to your one point five, I want to be a smaller operator. Why is that problematic if you have already covered with your government?”

 

Eamon Courtenay, Attorney-At-Law

“One point five is not sufficient it is what will allow the project to work. The country is actually using in excess of fourteen million gallons.”

 

Justice Peter Jamadar

“So having additional facilities is desirable.”

 

Eamon Courtenay

“Fourteen million which is roughly one million per month, the need to go through the facility is one point one. If we say somebody can bring in three hundred then one point one will not go through the facility.”

 

Justice Peter Jamadar

“So you needed to create a monopoly get one point one to make that project a success and anybody who threatened that minimum threshold had to be excluded.”

 

We will continue to follow the hearing on Wednesday.