Exactly two months ago, 7News broke the story on the mini-scandal with the Belcan Bridge. Engineer Roque Matus of M&M Engineering alleged that a Lebanese firm had plagiarized his design - and then sold it to the City Council. On that same day the City Council had a Belcan Bridge unveiling - saying that the Council - with funding from Taiwan was funding this mega project.
It was part of a bigger play within the corridors of power to take the bridge project away from the MIDH and put it in the hands of the Ministry of Economic Transformation.
At the time, the Chief Engineer told us it was "strange and appalling":
Reporter:
"How unusual is it that the executing agency would be the city council, who's not really been in charge of that road and has never overseen the construction of a bridge?"
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer
"From my personal perspective, I think it's very unusual. Honestly, as I have mentioned, you have been here for 28 years, and for that entire time it is the Ministry of Works, formerly Minister Works now MIDH that has implemented all bridge structures in the country. All. There haven't been any structure in the country that has been implemented by any other agency within Belize. None. And so it was very, I would say, strange and appalling to myself for us to be advised that another agency would be the executing agency for the Belcan,"
Well, tonight we can confirm that the play to take the bridge project is over. The Belize City council will not be the executing agency for the Belcan Bridge. It has gone back to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing. MIDH Minister Julius Espat yesterday confirmed to 7News that the project is back at MIDH which will execute the project entirely. He says that next week they are setting up the team and will start with the bidding process. Now, bear in mind that the city council had already invited bids to be unsealed on November 14th. But on the day before those were to be opened - a notice was send out that the bid opening had been deferred until further notice. As for the Lebanese firm which was contracted and paid to supervise the project for the City Council's - Espat said he did not know who they are and they will not be involved in any project at the MIDH.
The Belcan Bridge replacement project is one block of a much larger project of highway rehabilitation - and it also includes the swing bridge replacement - which will be announced in two weeks.
