17 million dollars, that how much the Government spent to renovate the Belize City Municipal Airport over the past few months, and if you're wondering who paid for it, you can breathe easier. None of that money came out of the public purse. It was raised by the two airline companies who operate out of that airport, namely Tropic Air, and Maya Island Air.
Today, after all the bells and whistles were installed, and all the ribbons were tied, they invited the press in for an unveiling event. The airport now has a new name; it now called the Sir Barry Bowen Municipal Airport, named after the prominent Belizean multi-millionaire who was known for his love of flying. Our news team was there for the ceremony, and here's what the Tourism Minister had to say about the upgrades:
Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr., Minister of Tourism
"The overall cost was 17 million dollars which included this Marian Jones Street, the runway and the apron parking area. If you see that wonderful a car park over there. We have space for the fueling farm over there for the future. We also have plans for having some little rentals in the future to be able to have probably delis or little souvenir shops over there to be able to make sure that our local people can sell their local things over there. That three that I mentioned also was a part of the 17 million dollars. The fill that had to go into the airport was tremendous because as you saw where we were earlier this morning, before and after there is no comparison. Tremendous amounts particularly in the area that we got from the Jesuits that was raw, nothing was there and we had to do tremendous fill, tons of them. The late Sir Barry Bowen, being a good friend of mine, approached me and said 'Junior', because that is the way he calls me, 'why don't we try to do something great at the municipal airport?' and I said 'Barry but it's all about money'. He would reply 'we can get it done, I can help either to get it financed or to help you divide that'. The initial concept plan was paid indeed by Sir Barry, he paid for the initial plans of this one and we just expanded on that. We have those boulders that are actually holding for bad weather. We had Earl and you see it survived fairly well and its 2 feet above sea level now, meaning to say that at the highest tide we will still be able to use that without any problems."
Dixie Bowen, Wife of Sir Barry Bowen
"We are all delighted, we are extremely proud. Every day that we fly in here weather its Michael in his airplane or myself in generally Tropic, I will remember fondly my late husband and the family feels very proud."
Michael Bowen, Son of Sir Barry Bowen
"This was the dream of my father for many years and what has been done here represents what could be done when you have bilateral communication between the private and public sector. I'd also like to thank Mr. Nicholas Ruiz and the entire BAA staff and crew who managed this project beautifully and in budget, you should be proud of what you have accomplished today. I'd also like to thank the owners of Tropic Air, Mr. Johnny Grief, Mr. Steve Shulte, the owners of Maya Island Air Eugene Zabaneh. This project was paid for by a direct tax on their industry of the head tax which was placed on each passenger ticket. This project didn't take funds from the general coffers of the government, instead the industry recognized the need for improvement throughout Belize and they stepped up to the challenge of funding these projects."
The municipal airport will also be able to accommodate night operation in the event of extreme emergencies.
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