Ambergris Caye’s 20-Year Development Plan — The Main Takeaways
Source: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), prepared with IDOM | 2023–2024 Official title: Strategic Plan for the Sustainable Development of Ambergris Caye
1. Overview
In simple terms, this is a 20-year roadmap (2025–2045) for Ambergris Caye. Backed by the IDB, it points to more than $300 million in infrastructure investment and focuses on four big priorities:
- Building a new international airport
- Improving water, sewage, and electricity systems
- Adding healthcare facilities and housing
- Upgrading roads and other transportation infrastructure
The plan breaks everything down into 3 main themes, 8 strategic lines, 9 specific goals, and about 29 individual projects. Those projects are then ranked using factors such as how realistic the financing is, how quickly they can happen, the island’s carrying capacity, and how much they could improve everyday life.
2. The New Airport — What to Know
The new airport is the headline project in the plan, especially from a real estate point of view.
- Location: A 494-acre (200 ha) site near Secret Beach, north of San Pedro Town.
- Runway: A proposed 8,800-foot (2,700-meter) runway.
- Aircraft: Large enough for mid-range jets such as the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320, opening the door to regular direct international flights rather than only charters.
- Why it is needed: The current San Pedro (John Greif II) airport is too small and too closely surrounded by town development to handle that level of international traffic.
Getting to the new airport site
- Secret Beach is about 7.6 miles from central San Pedro, or roughly an 18-minute drive at 25 mph.
- The new road is estimated to cost $3,052,000 USD.
- Around 349 lots could be affected by the proposed boulevard route.
How passenger numbers could grow
| Year | Passengers/year | Passengers/week |
| 2022 | 16,582 | 318 |
| 2030 | 24,255 | 496 |
| 2035 | 33,006 | 633 |
| 2040 | 42,132 | 808 |
| 2045 | 53,760 | 1,031 |
How the project could roll out
| Phase | Timeline | What happens |
| Improving the current San Pedro Airport | 2025–2027 | Safety upgrades, runway extension, and a control tower |
| Pre-investment studies | 2025–2027 | Pre-feasibility, feasibility, and final design work |
| Phase 1 construction | 2027–2029 | Runway, taxiway, terminal, hangars, and parking |
| Phase 2 expansion | 2035–2037 | Expansion of the runway, apron, and terminal |
| Full international operation | 2040 | Commercial, private, and cargo operations |
One comparison table puts the start of commercial operations at 2032, with full international operations expected by 2040. Once fully developed, the airport is projected to handle about 640,000 passengers a year, or 12,500 a week—roughly the scale of Roatán’s Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport.
How it compares with other regional airports
The plan looks at Juan Manuel Gálvez in Roatán, Key West International in Florida, and JAGS McCartney International in Turks & Caicos. They were chosen because they operate at a similar scale, are in island settings, and have had to manage growth carefully. Roatán is presented as the closest match—and the strongest success story.
3. Roads & Getting Around
- Right now, only 8% of Ambergris Caye’s roads are paved, mostly in downtown San Pedro and around the Belizean Shores and Mahogany Bay connections.
- Golf carts are still the main way people get around, and the island has no public transit system
- The plan proposes a boulevard-style road running from the north, near the new airport and Secret Beach, through San Pedro, plus paired one-way streets downtown to help reduce congestion.
- It also introduces several road types: Intercaye Road (R1), Urban Main Connection Roads (R2), Beachfront Road (R3), Central Local Road (R4), and dedicated bike paths
4. Where Growth Is Happening
- In 2022, the island had about 18,000 residents and a developed footprint of 1,795 acres (729 ha)
- Most growth is heading north: 54% is in the northern part of the island, with 30% around Secret Beach alone. Another 16% is in downtown San Pedro, while less than 1% is happening in the south.
- If current trends continue, development is expected to keep spreading north toward the airport site through 2045. Building height and density rules would change depending on how close a property is to the airport
How Ambergris Caye stacks up against other Caribbean destinations
| Destination | Total Area | Beachfront Length | Est. Hotels |
| Cancún, Mexico | 502 ha / 1,241 acres | 11.6 km / 7.2 mi | 1,129 |
| Punta Cana, Dominican Republic | 989 ha / 2,442 acres | 13.8 km / 8.6 mi | 700+ |
| Ambergris Caye, Belize | 555 ha / 1,372 acres (84.7% still undeveloped) | 16.4 km / 10.2 mi | — |
This may be the clearest investment takeaway in the report: Ambergris Caye has more coastline than either Cancún or Punta Cana, yet more than 80% of it is still undeveloped.
5. The Other Big Infrastructure Plans
- Water and sewage: Expand the network across the island, enlarge the wastewater treatment plant, and add a desalination plant
- Electricity: Extend the power network and encourage more renewable energy use
- Healthcare: Build new health centers, especially in underserved areas such as San Mateo, San Juan, and San Pedrito
- Housing: Create new housing areas, particularly in the north around Cayo Francés, and improve homes in more vulnerable communities
- Environment: Protect and restore mangroves, seagrass, and the coral reef, alongside a climate-risk management plan
- Tourism: Refresh the sustainable tourism plan, work toward destination certification, develop a new cargo port, and reorganize the marina
6. What This Could Mean for Ambergris Caye Real Estate
A few numbers really stand out when talking about the island’s investment potential:
- The airport site is right next to Secret Beach, and Secret Beach is already taking in the largest single share of the island’s growth at 30%
- Ambergris Caye is still about 85% undeveloped, even though it has more beachfront than Cancún or Punta Cana
- Work on the current San Pedro airport is scheduled for 2025–2027, before the new airport is built, so better air access could begin much sooner
- Passenger traffic is expected to more than triple between 2022 and 2045, rising from 16,582 to 53,760 passengers a year. That could mean more demand for accommodation, services, and housing along the airport corridor
This summary is based on the IDB/IDOM report “Ambergris Caye Belize – Strategic Development Plan,” using Inter-American Development Bank materials prepared by IDOM in 2023–2024.
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