IDB President Commends Belize’s Macro-Economic Stability and Control of Corruption

-Press Release – Belmopan- 5th, November, 2010 - President of the Inter-American Development Bank Luis Alberto Moreno has spoken favorably about Belize’s economic position and its success in controlling corruption.
In his opening remarks at a symposium this morning hosted by the Belize Chamber of Commerce, the IDB President stated, “Belize entered the global recession from a position of relative macro-economic stability and came through it relatively unscathed. Although growth decelerated, the economy did NOT actually contract, and macro-economic stability was maintained. Belize continues to have one of the lowest inflation rates in all of the Western Hemisphere.”
On the issue of corruption, Mr. Moreno stated, “The worldwide governance indicators that were released in the course of last month show that Belize has dramatically improved its ranking in the control of corruption. Its rise from the 47 percentile of countries in 2008 to the 57 percentile in 2009 was the sixth biggest improvement out of 207 countries that were examined.”
The IDB President was in Belize for a two day visit in which he met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow, other government officials and representatives of the private sector to discuss the IDB’s continued financing of development projects in Belize and other areas of funding.
During his meeting with Prime Minister Barrow yesterday, Mr. Moreno made a commitment that the IDB would assist Belize with finances for rehabilitation in the aftermath of Hurricane Richard. He assured Prime Minister Barrow that he would personally oversee the fast-tracking of an initial funding component to put in place mitigation measures in areas that have been particularly hard hit.
The IDB President left Belize this afternoon, but other senior IDB staff that accompanied him on the trip will remain in Belize over the weekend.

STP sets the stage for San Pedro Water Front Transformation

Contract signed with local architectural firm

Press Release – Government of Belize – July 27, 2010 - Under the Sustainable Tourism Program, over Bz$6 million of IDB (International Development Bank) funding, will be invested in a boardwalk stretching 2000 linear feet along the water-front and transforming the back lagoon area of San Pedro Town. The development will incorporate a multipurpose pier housing international and domestic water taxi terminals and small scale shopping. A destination for tourists and locals, the boardwalk will be designed to promote an atmosphere of leisure and relaxation; maintaining the identity of San Pedro Town, while revitalizing the surrounding area.

Local architectural firm International Environments (IE) Ltd. based in Belize City was awarded the contract for the deasibility, planning and design of the Sunset Pier and Boardwalk based on the strength of their technical and price proposals. Today Principal Daniel Arguelles signed off on the Bz $482,500.00 agreement with the Ministry of Tourism and the Belize Tourism Board. IE was one of the 12 firms from the local and international arena who expressed an interest in this challenging under-taking. Their experienced professionals have stated a strong commitment to developing a driver of future economic growth for San Pedro Town, creating further commercial and tourism opportunities and encouraging local ownership of the development.

IE’s team will carry out detailed marine and geotechnical investigations, social environmental studies and economic analysis, contributing to the final blueprints. A manual will also be developed to guide sustainable operations thus ensuring an efficient and successful public amenity for the future. The planning phase will span 5 months, setting the stage for construction to begin early next year.

For more information about the program please contact the Project Coordinating Unit at info@sustainabletourismbz.org or visit the STP website www.sustainabletourismbz.org.