“There is no bulk exportation that is currently happening,” he laments. One would be to build a bulk facility that can facilitate the export of cargo that is now only containerized. In looking toward the future, Vasquez says he would like to see progress on two important fronts. Other improvements include the automation of accounts and payroll, the integration of operations, the improved layout of the container yard, defining where each container is located, and beefing up the security at the access gates by being able to better identify and check in vehicles. Those are very important services that we provide for the shipping agents that never existed before.” We have an online portal where shipping agents can identify and follow a container from the time that it comes into the port, when it leaves, and when it’s coming back. “That brings a lot of efficiencies to the Port. “Over the last five years, there have been significant automation and IT improvements,” Vasquez says. Making it easier for those agents to operate has been one of the Port’s recent achievements. They can only operate through a local shipping agent.” “The Port Authority provides permission to shipping agents in Belize who are the representatives of the international shipping and cruise lines. “Any flagged ship can come to Belize,” says Vasquez. The Port compound, itself, houses the container yard, a large warehouse for less than container cargo, a main administrative building, a building for the operations department, and one for the fully-equipped mechanic shop. In addition, we have 150 stevedores who work independent of the office staff to load and offload the cargo vessels when they’re in port.” We believe it is more secure to have your own security officers and company. The Port has its own security company we do not employ external security services. “There are about ten in management there is a warehouse operation there’s staff that handles the cargo operation there is maintenance a mechanic shop and the administrative staff – human resources and the information technology department. “Currently, we have about 145 staff,” he relates. “The Port continues in operation as an ongoing business,” says Vasquez, who was committed from the first to manage the Port without any disruption of services, and has since made good on that promise. In 2012, Vasquez was appointed its CEO and Receiver by British Caribbean Bank, which took the Port over because of unpaid debts by its private owner. The Port of Belize was first established by the Belize Port Authority and run by the government until 2002, when it was privatized and sold to shareholders. So there are a lot of exports handled there, because the farms and agro-businesses are closer.” “There is only one more port in the country (Big Creek Port) that is operational, and it’s in the southern part of the country, where the agro-productive sector is located – bananas, citrus, beans, corn, rice, sugar. In fact, Vasquez reports that the Port handles between 95 and 98 percent of the country’s imports and well over half of its exports. “It is situated in the commercial district, which makes the Port very important to the entire importing and exporting operations of the country,” says Arturo Vasquez, the Port of Belize’s Chief Executive Officer. The Port of Belize is located in Belize City on the coast of the western Caribbean. Business View Caribbean interviews Arturo Vasquez, the Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Belize as part of our focus on Belizean businesses.
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