<p><strong style="font-size:13px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-2-00051.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-99680" title="Puerto Azul 2-0005" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-2-00051-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225"/></a>The Puerto Azul luxury facility has come under sustained fire from environmentalists following the launch of the Puerto Azul Experience Party at a glitzy event held in the French Riviera during the Cannes Film Festival. The high-end state of the art facility which is proposed to include an airstrip, mega hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and the likes, is being undertaken by Italian investors at Northern Two Caye near the Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Cabinet has given its nod to the project in the concept stage and Minister of Trade and Economic Development, Erwin Contreras and the Minister of Tourism, Manuel Heredia, were photographed at the Cannes during the party which suggested that the development can count on government support. Today, we asked Contreras’ C.E.O., Mike Singh, about the project and the involvement of his ministry. Singh says that he has seen a draft and that the project is too fantastical.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Michael Singh, C.E.O., Ministry of Trade & Investment</strong></p>
<p><em>“Puerto Azul is an early stage project; by no means is it at any level where any approvals have been given. I sat on the evaluation committee on the first time the project was presented and I will tell you that my opinion is that some things in the project are a little bit too fantastical. And as a Belizean, there are some things on there that I think needs to be shaved down and my advice to them that if you guys want to do a project in Belize, I think it needs to be at a level that is acceptable to what our environment can handle, to what our culture could handle and that will give maximum benefits to Belizeans. I am not convinced that the first project that I saw does that at all.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Reporter</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_99682" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width:160px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-1-0002.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-99682" title="Michael Singh" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-1-0002-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Michael Singh</p></div>
<p>“Can you describe for us how that first project looked since you managed to see it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Michael Singh</strong></p>
<p><em>“Well I think it is the same thing that you are seeing on all the media. It is a large project for development of a high-end, what you call a destination island including the development of an airport. There is mention of fashion boutiques and high-end condominiums and hotel rooms for the ultra rich. One of the concerns I had is that the scale that they are putting it together in their plan, I don’t know how big the ultra rich community in the world is, but the infrastructure to be able to support that on a remote island would have to be quite extensive. And I don’t know that our ecosystem can handle that. That’s my opinion.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-1.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-99681" title="Puerto Azul 1" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>Reporter</strong></p>
<p>“Can you describe some of the parts that you think are too fantastical to be able to even fit on that island that they are looking at?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Michael Singh</strong></p>
<p><em>“If you look at the aggregate of everything that is there. When you think about waste disposal, you think about the increased traffic. The idea of putting a runway on top of the reef is preposterous. I’ve been a diver all my life and I don’t believe that that is something that is wise for environment particularly since that is the attraction that is bringing people in. So there are certain things on there that needs to be downscaled. I can’t really go into a lot of details because it is not our job to downscale their own project; they have to do that. I am not aware as to how far they’ve gotten along to purchasing the real estate; we have not been given any indication of any titles being in their name for the real estate so I don’t know if that is completed as yet. That is outside our scope clearly. In respect to submission for environmental impact assessment, I understand that they are preparing their EIA; it has not yet been submitted to the DOE and it has not been evaluated as yet. So at this point, it is simply only at the concept stage that has been given to government.”</em></p>
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<p> </p>
<p><strong>Michael Singh, C.E.O., Ministry of Trade & Investment</strong></p>
<p><em>“Puerto Azul is an early stage project; by no means is it at any level where any approvals have been given. I sat on the evaluation committee on the first time the project was presented and I will tell you that my opinion is that some things in the project are a little bit too fantastical. And as a Belizean, there are some things on there that I think needs to be shaved down and my advice to them that if you guys want to do a project in Belize, I think it needs to be at a level that is acceptable to what our environment can handle, to what our culture could handle and that will give maximum benefits to Belizeans. I am not convinced that the first project that I saw does that at all.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Reporter</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_99682" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width:160px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-1-0002.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-99682" title="Michael Singh" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-1-0002-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Michael Singh</p></div>
<p>“Can you describe for us how that first project looked since you managed to see it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Michael Singh</strong></p>
<p><em>“Well I think it is the same thing that you are seeing on all the media. It is a large project for development of a high-end, what you call a destination island including the development of an airport. There is mention of fashion boutiques and high-end condominiums and hotel rooms for the ultra rich. One of the concerns I had is that the scale that they are putting it together in their plan, I don’t know how big the ultra rich community in the world is, but the infrastructure to be able to support that on a remote island would have to be quite extensive. And I don’t know that our ecosystem can handle that. That’s my opinion.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-1.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-99681" title="Puerto Azul 1" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Puerto-Azul-1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>Reporter</strong></p>
<p>“Can you describe some of the parts that you think are too fantastical to be able to even fit on that island that they are looking at?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Michael Singh</strong></p>
<p><em>“If you look at the aggregate of everything that is there. When you think about waste disposal, you think about the increased traffic. The idea of putting a runway on top of the reef is preposterous. I’ve been a diver all my life and I don’t believe that that is something that is wise for environment particularly since that is the attraction that is bringing people in. So there are certain things on there that needs to be downscaled. I can’t really go into a lot of details because it is not our job to downscale their own project; they have to do that. I am not aware as to how far they’ve gotten along to purchasing the real estate; we have not been given any indication of any titles being in their name for the real estate so I don’t know if that is completed as yet. That is outside our scope clearly. In respect to submission for environmental impact assessment, I understand that they are preparing their EIA; it has not yet been submitted to the DOE and it has not been evaluated as yet. So at this point, it is simply only at the concept stage that has been given to government.”</em></p>
View the full article