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Joined: Feb 2010
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Sorry, Mike I should have said Pan American Highway. My understanding is its more than a pipedream, but I don't know what stage its at. Probably a shelved GOB plan like many others!

Joined: May 2000
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Who's plan is this? Sounds a bit ambitious...

Joined: Jan 2010
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Hi Barbara, sorry for the delayed response. Our power was off for 30 hrs and I am just getting caught up.
Arthur Saldivar, a Belize City attorney, approached me with his idea of building a toll road connecting Mexico and Guatemala with wind farms and industrial zones included and asked me to research it and flesh it out. He named it after his grandfather.
I, of course, put in the stuff for Ambergris Caye as it is the same as the master plan recommendations and I would not have been involved unless I could get something for San Pedro included in the package. I also added the Western Super Highway as it is sorely needed. The writing is mine.
I have researched costs and tolls, traffic etc. and believe that, on first blush it should work, money-wise. I researched tolls across Mexico and the Us and looked at the types and volumes of goods crossing at Chiapas and it would seem the project could be feasible.
The estimated total cost all in is $750 Million USD. Toll roads are usually financed by private sector. In the US investors buy into tolls roads based on a value of 60 years revenue in France it's 12.5 years.
It is an enormously ambitious project but it is the only idea I have heard that even has a chance of changing our sorry state so I have gotten even more sold on the idea as I have been writing and researching.
I have changed the part about our border crossing and the new text follows: "An agreement with Mexico has already been signed expressing agreement to build this road although no public consultation has been held on the subject. The suitability of this crossing should be decided by the people of San Pedro through public consultation."
This has been given to both San Pedro papers and Mr. Saldivar has given it to the Belize City press as well.
It was presented on PlusTv in Belmopan last Sat afternoon with myself, Arthur Saldivar and Hubert Elrington but I dont know when it will air in San Pedro but it will be discussed on PlusTV on alternate Saturdays at 2-4pm.
The proposal has been circulated around the legal circles in Belize and is well received.
Boils down to the fact that nobody in government has a plan. Private sector must come up with a plan to save the country as the GOB does not have one.
I doubt that a plan any less ambitious than this would have much of a chance to make a difference.

Last edited by Mike Campbell; 08/04/10 09:12 PM.
Joined: Aug 2009
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Initially I thought that a super highway would be the last thing the country needed, but the logic isn't unconvincing. It is easy to forget how few entry points there are to the whole country.

For it to be a trunk route, presumably it needs to stitch together with the neighboring networks. What happens when the thundering Western Super Highway suddenly becomes a dirt track on the Guatemalan side?

It seems to me that much tourism is discouraged by high international flight costs as much as the domestic ones - will a second airport increase competition and lower the landing fees? Healthy if so.

Finally, I always thought Belize could benefit from providing non-tourism services (like IT, outsourcing etc) - low cost base, English speaking, US timezone, well-educated diaspora etc etc. India has shown that you can splice high-end tertiary industries onto the base of a poor agrarian economy and become a world super power.

Of course India is different to Belize in (literally) a billion ways - but, for what it's worth, their road network still sucks.

Joined: Jan 2010
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Thank you for your comments James. The road connection with Mexico should be very easy. In the south Guatemala has existing road that brushes the Belize border at the south west corner. Although the concept map shows the road ending close to the coast I think it needs to go to where Guatemala already has a road. The trade between Guatemala and Mexico is huge and a road across Belize could in many cases save days of travel time.
I dont really foresee a major border crossing springing up at the Western Frontier. The super highway would be for internal use. The existing western highway has claimed around 200 lives so far and is not suitable for even the traffic it now carries. When a tourist bus crashes and kills a bunch of people we will have a problem. Would like to work out getting all the cargo and public transport vehicles onto divided highways including petroleum transportation. It would also supply the link between Cayo tourism, manufacturing and agriculture and the International Highway and its markets.
The potential of the International Highway exists only as a result of geography but for that reason the project may be less speculative than it initially seems.

Joined: Aug 2010
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What is all this talk of a road in San Pedro or near the Hummingbird? Did I miss something? The map provided by Marty clearly shows a road that never comes near either one.

Joined: Jan 2010
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The concept map Marty posted is a proposed route of the International Highway based on several factors. The Western Super Highway is not shown but will be in the same location as the existing Western Highway. The road on North Ambergris Caye is also not shown. The exact path of the North Ambergris Caye road will have to be carefully considered and agreed on. The maps will be updated by the end of the month. These maps including the updates, should be considered as conceptual at this stage and are offered for discussion. The Hummingbird is not part of this plan except to try to direct the oil transport and heavy cargo vehicles which now use it onto the new road system which would be much safer for all.

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