Recently, the Commissioner of Harbor Affairs, Bruce Zagers along with Director of USONA, Mr. R Doran, signed a Financing Agreement for the first of many projects towards the Harbor. The financing agreement was for a total of approximately 140,000 NAF.
This agreement will finance two separate projects, the first being to hire a consultant to develop the plans for building a retaining wall near the rock slide area. Zagers stated, "This was an urgent project from the very beginning and ensuring safe harbor facilities is a major priority of the Government."
The consultant for this job will also be responsible for drafting other plans which will result in major improvements for the Harbor. For instance, the road where the new retaining wall will be built will have to be widened to accommodate the free flow of traffic. Furthermore, below the road will be transformed into extra dock space. This will be a new improvement and upgrade to approximately 175 feet of docking space. The consultant will also be in charge of finding a solution for the boat ramp. Zagers stated that he hopes the plans are finalized and the actual project can begin during the first quarter of 2010.
The second part of the project will be to research a solution for the end of the Captain Leo Chance Pier. The end of the pier was damaged during the passing of Hurricane Omar. The study will be made by Delft University. Depending on the outcome of the study, Zagers and his project team will make a recommendation to the Executive Council in the form of an action plan on how to proceed.
Approximately 7 million guilders have been made available within the SEI for improvements to the Harbor. Zagers and his Project Team have composed a plan encompassing several different projects which will total 4 million guilders. Once the report from Delft University is submitted, the Project team will be in a better position to allocate the remaining funding appropriately.
Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com