WILLEMSTAD - Our beaches undoubtedly play an essential role in promoting our country as a tourist destination. In a recent survey conducted by the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) among stayover tourists, our beaches ranked number 1 in the top 5 most visited activities in Curaçao. Considering the importance and impact of our beaches in our tourism product, Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Ruisandro Cijntje, actively participated in an interministerial working group initiated in 2021 with the goal of developing and implementing various upgrade and maintenance plans for 8 public beaches (out of a total of 34 public beaches) in Curaçao, which are highly visited by tourists. These beaches include Caracasbaai, Jeremy, Lagun, Playa Fòrti, Kenepa Grandi, Kenepa Chikí, Daaibooi, and Sta Cruz. The development and maintenance work carried out on these 8 beaches will not only benefit the tourists visiting our country but also our local residents who frequently enjoy these beaches and interact with our tourists in a pleasant manner.
A plan will be formulated to execute and finalize the development and maintenance works on these beaches within a period of 4 years. In the first year, small-scale projects will be carried out to improve basic facilities at Caracasbaai, Jeremy, Lagun, and Playa Fòrti, while preparations will begin for larger-scale works to upgrade Kenepa Grandi, Kenepa Chikí, Daaibooi, and Playa Sta Cruz. According to an overall budget, the project is estimated to cost around 25.5 million guilders.
To ensure the efficient execution of this project, Minister Cijntje has allocated 2.5 million guilders from his ministry for the year 2023. Additionally, he emphasized the imperative condition of entering into an administration agreement (beheersovereenkomst) with CTB, in accordance with a decision by the Council of Ministers dated April 6, 2022. This agreement enables CTB to coordinate the execution of the development plans. In the Council of Ministers' decision, CTB was chosen as the best option to act as the administrator and guarantee that the government prioritizes its commitment to develop, enhance, and maintain the 8 public beaches according to the formulated plans. Over the past years, CTB has accumulated significant experience in executing and administering development projects in tourist areas, such as Marie Pampoen, among others.
Minister Cijntje recently expressed, through a letter to the Ministry of Public Health, Environment, and Nature (GMN), the urgency and importance of executing the development and maintenance plans for the 8 beaches that have been neglected for years, considering the impact that the quality of these beaches has on our tourism product and our community as a whole. The letter urged for the approval of the plan and its funding, as well as the signing of the administration agreement (beheersovereenkomst) with CTB to commence the works. However, the Ministry of GMN has chosen to assign the execution of the development and maintenance plan for the mentioned 8 beaches to a department within its own ministry, which had always fallen under the responsibility of GMN but unfortunately did not receive priority.
Therefore, for the sake of transparency: Minister Cijntje and CTB are not in charge of the beaches.