Our Minister Meets with Stakeholders On North Ambergris Caye to Address the State of the Road

Last week, the General Manager of Matachica Resort requested a meeting on behalf of North Ambergris Caye. He met with our Area Representative, the Minister of the Blue Economy and Disaster Risk Management, Mr. Andre Perez to discuss the state of our road on the north side of Ambergris Caye. They agreed to call a larger group together, of key stakeholders, to address the concerns and formulate a plan.

That meeting was held this past Thursday at Matachica, and I wanted to share some of my notes with you. Also, as I was typing this up Friday morning, I saw that Minister Perez was also on the Reef Radio/TV daily Morning Show, summarizing some of the issues, addressing additional ones, and taking questions. (You can listen to a replay of the show on their Facebook page) But…I took some notes from that show as well.

Here they are – they are only notes:

• Attendees of meeting: Minister Andre Perez, Deputy Mayor Dianeli Aranda, Alex Ek, Head of Operations for the SPTC, hotel owners/managers from the north from Las Terrazas to Margaritaville and Tranquility Bay, the San Pedro Police Department (town, North and Tourism police), the Fire Department
• Jorge Cante. GM at Matachica started the meeting with an excellent statement representing businesses and homeowners on the north side of Ambergris Caye. Some of the key points – this is my summary: the north road deterioration is compromising our businesses – it is not just a bumpy ride for tourists bar-hopping. It affects our entire businesses – from tourists who don’t want to venture off property and cite road conditions (and quarry trucks) to staff transport and provisioning to emergency service availability. It is making the maintenance of vehicles costly for all. Lack of lighting at night is a safety concern as well. We, as stakeholders, are ready to collaborate – but we need government support both in the short-term (every hotel room on this island will be full in less than three weeks) to the long term. We need to be proactive rather than reactive with the roads – and while broader infrastructure upgrades are needed – this meeting was to focus on the roads.
• The Minister spoke next
  • He gave us an overview of what the town and the GOB have done over the past few years: The bridge and 8 miles of paved roads in the town center (I believe a Municipal bond for over $25mil BZD is providing funding these) The bridge was in a very dangerous state before repairs were done
  • Soon, they will be signing a deal with the IDB (World Bank) for $300mil for the development of North Ambergris Caye which includes new roads with proper drainage, sewage, electricity and a new airport (moving the one from the town center to the north of Ambergris Caye – on the north side of the road to Secret Beach) – the first phase of this plan, expected to start early next year, is the paving of the road up to Margaritaville (at Mile 13)
  • The quarries are currently running large trucks that do cause a significant part of the road destruction but they have provided much of the material for the roads built in town as well as providing fill for private development
  • These trucks will stop running for the holidays from Dec 15th until after the new year – additionally, there is a barge landing currently being built just south of El Pescador (2 miles north), so that starting in April 2025, the trucks will now be barged AROUND the town center – and will no longer be allowed to operate in town (except for certain exceptions)
  • The Minister said that Hardcore (which is needed for proper repair) is coming from the mainland by barge. 250 loads are on their way now. Each barge transport costs $12k, this is a very costly enterprise.
• There were questions and comments ranging from:
  • The Police Department commented on their work on North Ambergris Caye and the improved safety (I can concur – our police on the north side are communicative, very visible and responsive and overall…fantastic) – they said that their vehicles, though, are “taking a licking”
  • The Fire Department shared concerns about the roads – and coming from town. The Chief said they would like a truck on the north side – by the north police station. He is looking for volunteers with Fire experience – from the local and expat community – to assist! There were three fires north last dry season that they needed to respond to – all brush fires – a truck stationed north would make a huge difference in response time
  • A stake holder asked about the beach road (after 10 miles north) and asked about the plan. There has been serious deterioration this year, and it costs their business 10s of thousands to make the “beach road” usable for guests and deliveries.
  • There were additional comments about the road near Mara Laguna/Old Reef Village that floods so badly every time it rains – with lack of any real drainage
  • Additional questions/comments: Why doesn’t the town and/or the GOB own a barge, road repairs need to be done differently – you can’t just filled hole of water with fill, and lights are critically needed at night, trucks are playing chicken/running off-road our tourists, driving often driving too fast, too early in the morning, honking horns (the minister stated that he will work on this)

Here are a few notes I took from the morning show appearance:

• The town has identified other areas that need fill/road work including the road south, San Mateo, San Marcos area and Eiley Subdivision
• Company mining white maul from the quarry has provided 100s of thousand of dollars of material for the town use

Those are my notes. We should see changes over the next few weeks on the road and I will most certainly report back.

Thank you to the Minister, to Matachica and to the road crews (in advance). All I want for Christmas this year is a nice smooth-ish road for everyone to enjoy.

Note: These notes are mine – and if there are any errors or omissions, please let me know.