BELMOPAN, Belize – PRIME MINISTER Dean Barrow announced the creation of a US$100M economic stimulus plan at a press conference on Thursday (Jan. 22).

According to Caribbean 360, the plan will be funded by regional and international institutions.
These institutions include the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

Barrow stated that US$30M of the plan would go towards tourism and solid waste management while US$20M would be given to the Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

He added that US$10M would be used for the Belama Drainage Project, which aims to expand the Northern Highway into a four-lane road and restore infrastructure on the Western Highway.

“Under the continuing European Union assistance there is US$10M in grant funding for road infrastructure, particularly in the north. We have applied for this same figure from the CARICOM Petroleum Fund for flood relief purposes and the International Monetary Fund has said we can get another US$10M, without conditions, for balance of payment support.

“This is our version of the stimulus package that so many countries in the world are resorting to. This will increase employment, pump money into the economy and create the rising tide designed to float all boats even in a time of recession,” said the Prime Minister.

Barrow also revealed that the government is in negotiations with Taiwan for a concessionary loan to tackle the 0.7 percent deficit for the 2008-09 fiscal year.