~ Says everywhere is a priority ~
PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Infrastructure Theo Heyliger re-iterated Thursday that he would not shy away from admitting that St. Maarten has major issues with drainage and sewage in particular, but stressed that the Ministry of VROMI would embark on projects that would address many of these issues.
Answering questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) during the continuation of the plenary session of Parliament on Infrastructure, Heyliger gave details about his Ministry's efforts to address poor infrastructure, with a limited budget. Heyliger noted that last year's budget had been exhausted three months before the end of the year, because of the increase in activities after rain had caused havoc on the roads for most of the year.
He said in these cases at least, blame could not be placed on the contractors for faulty work. The contractors and the Ministry were in a fight all year with trying to patch and repair in a rainy year compounded by the lack of drainage facilities.
He also mentioned some of the roads that the Ministry had fixed in 2011 and the cost incurred: Sedlum Cactus Road NAf. 141,000; Organ Pipe Cactus Road NAf. 255,000; Zozo Moran Drive NAf. 182,000; Water Rock Lane NAf. 249,000; Pendant Cactus Drive NAf. 217,000; Prickly Pear Road NAf. 86,000 and Chin Cherry Road NAf, 165,000.
The minister said some MPs called for maintenance of completed projects, but the reality was that major projects to address the drainage in the districts in particular had to be started.
He said MPs could talk about priorities, "but to everyone their district is a priority," and explained why government had chosen to start projects in some districts. The minister also provided an update on the ongoing projects, most of which will be completed mid-2012. He also elaborated on some newer projects to come online in 2012, such as improving sewage facility access from the inner regions of Dutch Quarter.
Minister Heyliger also said the state of Back Street would be addressed by the contractor, even though the work executed was past the guarantee period. The Ministry is also looking at a sewage treatment facility in Cole Bay and other smaller facilities in other districts, and explained that the contractor of the sewage line project from Ebenezer was still responsible for that unfinished project and for clearing the line of sand and other blockages that had been occurring over the past few months.
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