The northern Belize district of Orange Walk is entering a new era of urban development, as a slate of large-scale public infrastructure projects funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) move forward to reshape the municipality’s core spaces.
Three key initiatives make up the bulk of the transformation work: comprehensive upgrades to Orange Walk’s busy Main Street, a significant expansion of the town’s central public market, and the construction of a new multi-use river walk along the banks of the New River. According to Kevin Bernard, the elected Area Representative for Orange Walk East, the overarching goal of all these projects is to bring the town into line with modern standards, improving quality of life for long-term residents while creating more attractive public spaces for visiting tourists.
Breaking down the scope of work, Bernard detailed that the Main Street upgrade will include full construction of new, accessible sidewalks and other pedestrian improvements. The river walk project, a portion of which falls within Bernard’s Orange Walk East constituency, will stretch along the New River waterfront behind the local school, transforming the underused riverside area into a public recreational space. Bernard confirmed that the IDB has already finalized contract awards for the river walk, with on-site construction set to begin as early as next week.
Progress on the market expansion project has moved at a slower pace, however. While vendors who operate in the zone marked for expansion have already been temporarily relocated to the town’s barracks to accommodate construction, Bernard noted that unplanned final adjustments have pushed the start of work back, with construction now expected to begin sometime in 2026. As Bernard clarified, he is no longer a member of the municipal council and does not participate directly in the project’s steering committees, so his updates come from briefings shared by the town’s mayor. The market expansion is still progressing through final administrative and design adjustments, he added.
Beyond Orange Walk, Bernard emphasized that the broader IDB development program is bringing much-needed infrastructure upgrades to multiple northern municipalities in Belize, including the neighboring districts of Corozal and the island community of San Pedro. The program’s core focus across all participating regions is upgrading aging public infrastructure and expanding accessible public spaces to support long-term economic and community growth.