Belize will increase access to wastewater collection and treatment with IDB support

Feb 14, 2011

Sewage treatment

$10 million to improve the quality of life for residents of the Placencia Peninsula, a popular tourist destination

Belize will build a new wastewater collection and treatment system in the Placencia Peninsula, its second most important tourist destination, with a $5 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
 
In addition, $5 million will be provided to Belize from Global Environment Facility (GEF) resources under the “Testing a Prototype Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater” (CReW) project.
 
Currently there is no wastewater collection and treatment system serving the Placencia Peninsula. Residential and business facilities must provide for their own wastewater treatment solutions, a practice that is becoming unsustainable with the growth in tourism.
 
The IDB and GEF funds will be used to design and build an environmentally sound, sustainable and cost-effective wastewater management system that will reduce the risk of environmental degradation while contributing to the improvement of health conditions for residents and visitors alike.
 
The system will include the construction of a sewerage collection network, a treatment plant and disposal system that will also incorporate existing individual wastewater treatment facilities.
 
“The communities on the peninsula identified the need and the solution,” said Caroline Clarke, the IDB Representative in Belize. “We are gratified that the IDB team was able to facilitate the large grant resources from the GEF, which effectively reduced the capital costs of the project by half and put wastewater collection and treatment within reach of population.”
 
The project will also finance public awareness campaigns to promote public understanding of wastewater management, as well as the establishment of benchmarks for replicating additional wastewater investment projects in Belize.
 
The financing provided by the IDB will be drawn from the Bank’s Ordinary Capital and will be lent on a 25-year term, with a 5-year grace period and an interest rate based on LIBOR.
 

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