THE HAGUE - The Netherlands is making investment programs available for the countries Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten, as well as for the Caribbean Netherlands: Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. That is stated by State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen in a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives today.
According to the Netherlands, the investments should lead to strengthening the islands' economic growth potential, increasing their financial and economic autonomy, accelerating the energy transition, and improving the standard of living and employment. With this, the government is implementing one of the agreements from the coalition agreement.
Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten
To contribute to the economic development of Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten, the Netherlands is reserving a total of up to two hundred million euros from the National Growth Fund.
To be eligible for the funding, the three countries can submit projects that have a demonstrably high impact on the sustainable earning capacity of the islands.
A condition is that the projects must consist of high-quality proposals in the fields of climate adaptation and energy transition, education, digitization of government, basic infrastructure (logistics, water purification, and waste management), cost-efficient food production, and the sustainability of the economy, especially tourism.
Initially, a tranche of one hundred million euros will be made available. If this opening is exceeded by high-quality proposals that meet to-be-determined safeguards and criteria, a second opening of up to one hundred million euros is possible. The investment program will be developed in the coming months after consultation with the three countries.
Energy transition
To stimulate the energy transition in Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten, SDE funds (Stimulation of Sustainable Energy Production and Climate Transition) can be reserved to invest in one or several cost-effective projects.
These projects should make a substantial contribution to the energy transition of the countries. In the summer, TNO (Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research) will start a study to assess the potential projects for promoting sustainable energy production and/or CO2 reduction.
This includes, for example, increasing the capacity of solar and wind energy, enabling a significant portion of electricity production to be sustainable and at lower costs for businesses and consumers. This also makes the production and export of hydrogen more attractive.
Lastly, the Dutch government is developing a tailor-made guarantee scheme to stimulate credit provision to healthy businesses in Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten. Guarantee schemes help companies with insufficient collateral to obtain financing.
Currently, such schemes are lacking in Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten. Unlike the Netherlands, the guarantee scheme will also be open to companies in sectors such as agriculture and fisheries. This is necessary because the islands still heavily rely on imports for fresh vegetables and fruits.
Caribbean Netherlands
Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius, collectively known as the Caribbean Netherlands, are already eligible for funds from both the National Growth Fund, SDE (Stimulation of Sustainable Energy Production and Climate Transition), and a guarantee scheme. Customized measures will be implemented to improve access to these subsidy programs and the guarantee scheme for these islands.
Therefore, the Dutch government is allocating thirty million euros from the growth fund specifically for the Caribbean Netherlands and developing a separate program to enhance the sustainable earning capacity of the region.
Since Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, like Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, have a vulnerable economic structure heavily reliant on tourism and imports, the themes for this investment program for the Caribbean Netherlands will be similar to those for Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten.
For the Caribbean Netherlands, a total of €33.6 million was made available from SDE funds and the Regional Envelope in September of last year. This funding is already being used for tailor-made projects to promote sustainable energy generation. Currently, a new solar park is being constructed on Bonaire, consisting of over 10,000 solar panels, which will provide electricity for 5,000 households.
Despite the adaptation of the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme to the local context and demand, businesses in the Caribbean Netherlands are currently making limited use of it. Together with the Public Bodies, efforts will be made to raise awareness of this guarantee scheme among businesses, as well as traditional and non-traditional financial institutions. This can increase credit provision to local businesses, enabling them to make further investments.
Next steps
In the coming months, the three programs for Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten will be further developed, and customized measures will be implemented for the Caribbean Netherlands.
Before summer, discussions will be initiated with all the islands to discuss the substantive frameworks of the three instruments. Additionally, efforts will be made to determine effective ways to support the six islands in developing and implementing projects.
