An impression of the provisional design of the new Black Rocks Harbour.
SABA--Commissioner of Infrastructure and Finance Bruce Zagers and the harbour project team provided an update on the Saba harbour project during a recent visit of Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitisation Alexandra van Huffelen and a delegation of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.
The team presented the latest design and explained the next steps to be taken. To move the project forward, the public entity Saba wants to propose to the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management IenW that it decide on the final project scope and to get permission to start tendering so that a contractor can be appointed by the end of the year. Meetings are scheduled with the IenW Ministry later this month when a delegation of the public entity Saba visits The Hague.
The final scope includes keeping Fort Bay Harbour as the main cargo harbour and developing a new harbour for all other harbour-users at Black Rocks. An assessment showed that with relatively limited investments, the existing cargo pier at Fort Bay could be upgraded to a future-proof and hurricane-proof cargo facility. The complete separation of small vessel/tourist activities from industrial cargo activities will improve navigational safety and lead to a much more attractive and tourist-friendly Black Rocks Harbour.
Meanwhile, road works are progressing. The provisional road to Black Rocks is almost ready. The first part of the existing dirt road has been widened and a new section of the road was cut towards the new harbour area by Work Monster. Saba Roads started building a Saba-style rock wall along the provisional road. Paving of this road will take place after the completion of the new harbour, to prevent damage by construction traffic.
A reforestation project is scheduled to start shortly. The first phase of this project will focus on planting trees on the rock catchment benches that were created along the first part of the road.
To get an impression of the future development of the new harbour area, a draft masterplan has been drawn up for the land-side facilities. This plan describes what facilities are needed in the near and distant future for the various harbour users. The plan also provides guidelines for the design of the harbour area and gives impressions of the desired architecture. The aim is to make Black Rocks Harbour an attractive, welcoming, user-friendly and safe harbour, integrated in the Saban landscape and architecture.
Stakeholders were consulted in the design phase of the harbour and the drafting of the masterplan. Meetings were held with the local users, including fishermen, dive shop operators and Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF).
For the masterplan, meetings were also held with the safety partners (police, fire department), the Dutch government Real Estate Company “Rijksvastgoedbedrijf”, the Dutch Royal Marechaussee, several stakeholders within government such as the harbourmaster and the Tourist Bureau, as well as with the landowners in the Black Rocks area.
