National Bus Terminals Set for Major Upgrades, Says CEO

Commuters across the country can expect continuous improvements to the nation’s bus terminals across the country. The refurbishments come as the Ministry of Transportation embarked on a new phase of infrastructural upgrades. During the Morning Show, Chief Executive Officer Chester Williams explained that the upgrades will go beyond basic maintenance and repairs. The aim, he said, is to ensure that every terminal meets acceptable standards of comfort, safety, and respect for human dignity.

Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Transport: “We find that the terminals are even more in a dilapidated state.  The best terminal I saw or we saw was the one in Independence,  which I believe was a fairly new terminal. That one was in  reasonably good condition. But when you look at Dangriga, Belize City, Belmopan, Corozal, those terminals are not in a state for human beings to go and wait. These terminals are used by us, Belizeans and it’s also used by foreigners who visit our country. We have to make sure we have something that is presentable and something that respects the human dignity of our people.  The current situation does not respect human dignity of our people and we must change it. So my first mission is to make sure that we refurbish the terminals. I have brought in the engineer from Ministry of Infrastructure to look at the integrity of the building, because we have to decide if the building integrity is no longer good or if it’s still good, because we don’t want to  money on a building that may be condemned. And the engineers are saying that the infrastructure of the integrity of the building is still good and can last for about 25 or 30 years. That being the case, we can renovate. So the Ministry of Infrastructure Architect is currently doing the plan for us. Once the plan is done, it is going to be presented to me and I will write to the Ministry of Finance for the funds to refurbish the terminal.”

The Ministry has not yet announced a timeline for when renovations will begin, but consultations with stakeholders, including bus operators and commuters, are reportedly already underway.