Since earlier this week, we've been telling you about reports that NEAC did not give its approval for the Waterloo's proposed cruise port out at Port of Belize. And tonight, we can tell you that the DOE accepted that recommendation and has denied them the environmental clearance.
In a press release, Waterloo Investment Holdings says they're disappointed and added, quote, "Waterloo categorically rejects the allegation that, despite numerous requests for various technical and scientific information from the NEAC, what it submitted to NEAC was lacking in completeness. Waterloo has spared no expense in retaining the best available scientific experts to address the concerns that were brought to its attention by the NEAC. The Board of Waterloo is satisfied that NEAC's denial of environmental clearance and the DOE's rubberstamping of that denial is fundamentally flawed and comes against the backdrop of provable requests for bribes from certain NEAC members and a discredited DOE whose Chief Environmental Officer was recently obliged to retire for highly questionable decisions related to another cruise port facility under his watch." End quote.
Yesterday you heard Minister of Sustainable Development, Orlando Habet, say that those bribery allegations must be substantiated by Waterloo before they can proceed to investigate them.
But the press release continues by saying that, quote, "Waterloo intends to fully exercise all its available rights including but not limited to the appeal process under the Environmental Laws of Belize, judicial review of a NEAC decision clearly tainted with illegality and irrationality and treaty rights under the Bilateral Investments Treaty between Belize and the United Kingdom. Waterloo also intends to seek full disclosure under these legal processes of all submissions made by the competing cruise port projects being developed by Stakebank Enterprise Ltd, "Port Coral," and Portico Enterprises Ltd, "Port of Magical Belize," to the DOE and NEAC with respect to their applications for environmental clearance, to ensure that Waterloo has been granted fair and equitable treatment by these bodies in the context of its own environmental clearance application." End quote. The release ends with a quote from Waterloo Stewart Howard saying that they remain committed to the project and have already spent in excess of US$5 million on its development.
