There are reliable reports reaching 7News tonight which say that government is on the verge of a very big deal with the Ashcroft Alliance. We have received official confirmation that the Ashcroft Alliance has agreed to sell the Port of Belize to the Government of Belize - and that the change in ownership could take place as soon as the weekend - after the deal goes to the House of Representatives tomorrow. This would end 21 years of privatization - which was initiated by a PUP government in 2002.
Today - at another event - we tried to talk to the Prime Minister about the big rumored deal - but he shut the interview down:
Courtney Menzies:
"Sir is the government in talks to buy back Port from the Ashcroft Alliance?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well, like I said, I want to thank you guys for covering these very important issues..."
Courtney Menzies:
"Sir will there be an announcement in the House Meeting?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Thank you very much."
Again, we expect to know more at tomorrow's house meeting. There was a Cabinet meeting today to go over the details of what is expected to be an asset purchase valued in the tens of millions of dollars. For the government, it appears to be a strategic move - because taking back over the Port and putting it in public hands - will bring an end to the many pending lawsuits that the Ashcroft Alliance has filed against the government. Also, government could invest in upgrading the bulk shipping facilities at the sovereign Port - which The Ashcroft Alliance refused to do unless its proposed Waterloo Cruise Port was approved.
Late this evening sources are now confirming that the negotiations with the Ashcroft Alliance - over the past 2 months - are actually for a larger settlement of multiple arbitral awards that the Ashcroft Alliance has pending against the government dating back to the Barrow Administration. All told, the value of the port and the pending awards were more than 500 million Belize dollars; the settlement is reported to be for less than 200 million Belize dollars. Again, we'll know more tomorrow.
