A contentious $600 million airport redevelopment plan for Belize’s Ambergris Caye, earmarked for a remote site near Secret Beach on land held by the Social Security Board and backed by proposed Inter-American Development Bank financing, has ignited fierce debate among local residents, business operators and public officials over long-term growth priorities and immediate community impacts. The core flashpoint of the disagreement centers on official indications that the long-serving, centrally located John Greif II Airport in the heart of San Pedro Town would eventually be decommissioned once commercial operations shift to the new northern site, a outcome that local stakeholders say was not part of initial public discussions that framed the project as a dedicated facility for private aircraft. Father Eduardo Montemayor, pastor of the San Pedro Catholic Church, a licensed pilot who has led the congregation for six years, noted that the project’s stated purpose shifted abruptly from a complementary private aviation hub to a replacement for the existing municipal airport, a pivot he describes as deeply unwise. The church had planned to redevelop its property, positioned directly across from the current airport, into a revenue-generating shopping district whose proceeds would fund education initiatives across all of Belize, a plan entirely dependent on the John Greif II Airport remaining operational. Longtime local business leaders such as Jennie Staine, executive chef at iconic San Pedro eatery Elvi’s Kitchen, argue the new airport project is wildly premature, noting that the island’s already strained infrastructure, including poorly maintained local roads and unplanned urban sprawl, requires far more urgent investment decades before a new airport could be justified. A site visit by News Five reporter Paul Lopez confirmed that travel from central San Pedro to the proposed Secret Beach airport location takes roughly 30 minutes along a route that includes large stretches of unpaved, underdeveloped roadway, a gap that residents warn will drastically extend travel times for tourists, delay emergency medical and disaster response operations, and deliver a catastrophic blow to the downtown San Pedro tourism economy that has grown up around easy access to the existing airport. Area Representative for Belize Rural South Andre Perez has defended the project, stating that any transition away from John Greif II Airport will follow a slow, phased timeline, with full decommissioning not expected until at least 2030, and that market demand will dictate the pace of the shift rather than a rigid government mandate. Perez also pushed back against widespread resident complaints that local stakeholders have not been given meaningful input into the plan, arguing that public project presentations hosted by the San Pedro Town Council constituted formal consultation. Community members, however, have rejected that framing, stating that a one-way informational presentation that does not incorporate community feedback into final design decisions cannot be classified as genuine consultation. As of November 4, 2026, no final binding decisions have been released, but local residents say they will continue pushing to ensure their concerns are prioritized before any irreversible commitments to the new airport project are made.