Economy of Belize - Infrastructure

Infrastructure

A major constraint on a functioning market economy in Belize continues to be the scarcity of infrastructure investments. Although electricity, telephone, and water utilities are all relatively good, Belize has the most expensive electricity in the region. Large tracts of land which would be suitable for development are inaccessible due to lack of roads. Some roads, including sections of major highways, are subject to damage or closure during the rainy season. Ports in Belize City, Dangriga, and Big Creek handle regularly scheduled shipping from the U.S. and the United Kingdom although draft is limited to a maximum of 10 feet in Belize City and 15 feet in southern ports. International air service is provided by American Airlines, Continental Airlines, U.S. Airways, and TACA to gateways in Dallas, Texas, Houston, Texas, Charlotte, North Carolina, Miami, Florida, and San Salvador.

Several capital projects are currently underway. The largest of these is a $15 million rural electrification program to be jointly implemented by the government and Belize Electricity Limited (BEL). In addition, the government will continue to implement an Inter-American Development Bank Emergency Reconstruction Fund of $20 million aimed at restoring essential services such as health and education facilities and transportation networks to communities which were severely damaged by Hurricane Keith. The government will also invest close to $4.2 million in projects targeted at poverty alleviation across Belize.

Initiated in 1999, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, through the Belize Agricultural Health Authority, will continue to implement the IDB-funded "Modernization of Agricultural Health Project." This $2.5 million project seeks to improve the competitiveness of Belize's agricultural products and thus enhance the ability of Belizean farmers and processors to maintain and expand the sale of their high-quality products to foreign markets. A $5 million soybean project, funded by the Brazilian Government, began in 2001 to assist northern Belizean farmers in diversifying away from sugarcane cultivation.

The government also plans to invest $9.85 million to complete the rehabilitation of the Hummingbird Highway, as well as investing $9.5 million in its health-sector reform program. The Ministry of Tourism is confident that another IDB-funded project, the "Tourism Development Project", will make Belize the Mundo Maya centerpiece for travelers to Central America. The government will spend close to $1.4 million in improving access to the Maya archaeological sites in Belize, especially Caracol. Using a soft loan from the Republic of China, the government is funneling $50 million toward the construction of low-cost housing.