Interim Minister of VROMI, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on Thursday signed the agreement with Mr. Eric van Putten of Designer’s Choice N.V. for the sewage connections to the homes and properties directly along the main road in Middle Region.
The agreement is valued at Naf. 450,000, financed by the government of St. Maarten. After signing the agreement the Prime Minister immediately instructed the Ministry of VROMI section New Works, to look at connecting the homes in the higher elevations next.
From 2009 thru 2011 the upgrading of Middle Region was carried out with funding from the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) program. The main road of Middle Region was upgraded with the implementation of a sewage network system and sewage laterals with the adjoining house connection inspection pits to later connect the adjacent properties and homes. Government also invested NAf 2.5 million for the construction of boundary walls on the East and West sides of the Middle Region main road.
The government of St. Maarten made the commitment as part of the project agreement with the EU, to ensure that the homes in Middle Region would be connected onto the main sewage line at its expense to eliminate running sewage water onto the streets. To this effect, a terms of reference (TOR) was prepared and placed on public tender for the project: Design and Build Remedial House Connections St. Maarten East. The TOR includes connections for the districts of Philipsburg (phase 1) and Middle Region (Phase II).
The tender proceedings were held on December 4, 2014, with three companies participating in the public tender. The signing on Thursday had to do specifically with phase II of the project. It is urgent for the government of St. Maarten to complete the connections of the properties to the sewage line to avoid jeopardizing the agreements with the EU about other similar funding arrangements projected for the areas of Dutch Quarter (10th EDF) and Cole Bay (11th EDF).
Designer’s Choice N.V. is expected to complete the work in three calendar months. Mobilization should begin next week.