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As you heard there’s $30 million in that stimulus package for urban renewal in Belize’s towns – all excepting San Pedro. The Prime Minister today outlined that programme but added that government has also put together something for the city.

Hon. Dean Barrow,
“But it will be about $5 million each for San Ignacio-Santa Elena, Punta Gorda, Dangriga, Orange Walk, Corozal, Benque Viejo. I have determined that we must do a similar urban rejuvenation project here in Belize City. In and of itself that is a laudable objective but another reason for determining on this is what’s happening with crime. I recollect that what worked particularly well when I was Minister of National Security and we had forged the gang truce and started CYDP, was providing employment for some of the gang members, ex-gang members, those wished to convert, those we wished to wean away from the gang lifestyle. So it gives me great pleasure to announce this morning that both as a crime fighting measure and because aspirationally this is worthwhile in and of itself, that we are developing, we are initiating a $5 million urban rejuvenation project for Belize City. I am told this will reseal and rehabilitate just under nineteen miles of streets in Belize City. The whole concept is to do the resealing, to fix some drainage, to replace drain covers, to do landscaping, to do beautification so that this thing can indeed become what we are describing it to be: a rejuvenation for the old capital.”

Cadet Henderson,
“We have a list of at least 50 streets and a list that will be our first phase and those are the main high traffic, high volume areas.”

So there are 19 miles spread out over fifty streets and work starts in three to four weeks. The city rejuvenation is funded by four million dollars in Petrocaribe money and one million collected from abandoned bank accounts.