Saba Commissioner Bruce Zagers (left) shaking the hand of Ballast Nedam director Eric van Zuthem after the contract signing.
SABA--The public entity of Saba and Ballast Nedam International Projects signed the construction contract for the new Black Rocks harbour on Tuesday.
This move paves the way for “construction of the marine works” at the new harbour site to start after the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, the Saba government said in a press release. The project is scheduled to end in December 2026.
Commissioner of Finance and Infrastructure Bruce Zagers signed for the Saba government, while Ballast Nedam director Eric van Zuthem did so on behalf of the Dutch construction company.
More than 30 people witnessed the signing, including Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Director-General Roald Lapperre and Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management Deputy Director-General Brigit Gijsbers. Also present were Dutch members of parliament (MPs) Peter van Haasen and Raoul White.
The public tender for the construction of the Black Rocks harbour and upgrades of the existing Fort Bay harbour launched at the end of 2023, resulting in two bids this May. Both offers were higher than the available budget, stalling the contract being awarded until last month, when the Dutch government made another 40 million euros available to the project.
During Tuesday’s signing ceremony, Zagers thanked those who helped “to ensure that such a project would become a reality.”
“We reached a point where either the project would happen or not because of the gap in the budget,” Zagers said. “This project is more than just building a new, hurricane-resistant and future-proof harbour for Saba. It is an example of when there is true motivation by individuals, civil servants and politicians to acknowledge when there is a need and then to work tirelessly to achieve it.”
Ballast Nedam is no stranger to the region, having most recently been the general contractor for the multi-million-US-dollar reconstruction project of St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport.
