Government and BWSL Sign Agreement to Provide Water to Chan Chen Village in the Corozal District
Ministry of Finance, National Development and the Public Service

Belmopan - 11 December, 2007
Prime Minister of Belize, Rt. Hon. Said Musa and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Belize Water Services Ltd. (BWSL), Mr. Norris Hall have signed an agreement to connect the village of Chan Chen to the BWSL Corozal water network. Under the agreement, Government will provide $380,000 while BWSL will provide $345,000 to fund the expansion which is estimated to cost $725,000.

The scope of the project includes the installation of 3.5 miles of distribution pipes within Chan Chen, and over 2 miles of main transition lines (i.e. 6” and 8” pipes) from Corozal Town to Chan Chen. Apart from designing and contributing financially to the system, BWSL will implement the field work, and manage Chan Chen as part of its Corozal network.

Over 550 residents from 175 households will benefit from this project which will ensure that the residents have reliable access to potable water. This water expansion project is in line with Government’s National Poverty Elimination Strategy and Action Plan 2007–2011 which aims to increase the percentage of Belizeans with access to piped and potable water from 87.7 % in 2007 to 95% by 2012.

Chan Chen Village is one of the three (3) villages in the Corozal District that does not have access to piped water from BWSL or from a rudimentary water system. Following the effects of Hurricane Dean, the Ministry of National Development decided to prioritize this project, and grant funding was obtained from the Commonwealth Debt Initiative to implement this project.

Work is expected to begin in early January and will be completed by the end of May 2008. Additional information about the Chan Chen water project can be obtained from the Ministry of National Development

http://www.governmentofbelize.gov.bz/press_release_details.php?pr_id=4779