Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment, and Infrastructure (VROMI) announces the successful completion of emergency landslide stabilization works in Ebenezer Road, a key milestone in improving hillside safety ahead of the peak 2025 hurricane season.
The stabilization intervention addressed a critical landslide threat that emerged following
significant soil movement in mid 2024. The situation posed an immediate danger to nearby
homes, public infrastructure, and stormwater channels in the area, with blocked drainage posing
heightened flooding risks to residents of Ebenezer.
This emergency effort follows years of community complaints and safety concerns dating back
to 2010, on the way the hillside was being excavated. Between 2020 and 2022, the residents of
Ebenezer submitted several letters to the Ministry of VROMI about the eroding hill face and the
impact of falling soil. The tropical storms in early August 2024 worsened the state of erosion,
leading to the collapse of a septic tank and cistern unto properties below, causing further drain
blockage and threatening the complete collapse of the hill face. The situation in the area was
worsened by the Saint Martin Day rains in November 2024, which saw severe island-wide
flooding.
The Ministry, under the leadership of Minister Patrice Gumbs, finalized the halted three-year
tender process for trench cleaning, issuing, in mid-August, the contracts for regular maintenance.
To support the operationalization of these contracts and to address the complaints and safety
concerns of the residents, the Ministry identified the repairs of the trench and the stabilization of
the eroded cliff face as critical. Assessments began at the end of August 2024, were completed in
February 2025, and work on the hill face began on March 10 th 2025.
“This project demonstrates the importance of civil works permits, responsible property
development, and sound spatial planning,” said Minister Gumbs. Since its reintroduction in
2021, civil works permits have been irregularly applied. The Ministry began drafting a
procedural manual late 2024, to make clear when and how to apply civil works permits. The
Ministry is busy with preparations for external stakeholder review and subsequent
implementation.
Key project highlights:
Emergency works included shotcrete nailed wall construction, slope anchoring, and
the clearing and restoration of the public drainage trench.
The solution, with proper maintenance, has a significant lifespan; and allows for natural
revegetation (greening) of the hill face.
The stabilization was completed in just under three months, ahead of peak storm activity.
The project was executed by AcrobatX, one of the few specialized geotechnical
contractors operating in our subregion..
This intervention underscores the government’s proactive approach to climate adaptation
and infrastructure resilience.
The residents of the area are now safer and better protected against erosion, landslides,
and flash flooding.
This intervention was prioritized over other areas, due to the urgency highlighted by last year’s
tropical storms and erosion-induced structural collapses that were a risk to not only homes but
lives as well. Further along the hill face, a secondary intervention is planned, which, once
completed, will see the fixing of the Ebenezer trench, which drains water from the hills of South
Reward through all of Dutch Cul-de Sac and down to the Philipburg basin. One resident offered
the following quote “In the 15 years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen the total length of this trench
maintained and cleaned, this is big step towards this”
The company that took on the task of remedying the catastrophe, AcrobatX listed some of the
following reasons as the causes of the landslide:
Attempting to enlarge the properties using backfill without (any) proper reinforcement
(since granodiorite (type of rock in parts of the area) is very easy to dig and changes to
the texture of sand under weight)
Subsurface water circulation, due to the lack of proper drainage built into the retaining
wall. This increased the pressure, initiating the landslides.
Julien Ripert, the CEO of ACROBAT X (special works) & Rocks & Risks (geotechnical study
office) stated that “I am glad to see that following my presentation to the Members of Parliament
in 2022, there is now a strong will to make Sint Maarten better in the area of enhanced
construction regulation and in this scope to manage better the geotechnical context of
construction.”
The Ministry has submitted a request to include a dedicated landslide mitigation line in the
national budget, to support similar critical interventions moving forward. “We are committed to
identifying and addressing other high-risk areas across the country, not just reactively, but
through sustained, forward-thinking policies.” Minister Gumbs explained.
Residents are thanked for their continued cooperation and are encouraged to remain vigilant as
the hurricane season progresses.