WILLEMSTAD - The possible reopening of the refinery with Curaçao Petroleum Refinery, CPR, as operator is further away than ever. Negotiations have been halted due to the Central Bank's complaint. Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas said this in parliament yesterday morning.
The complaint concerns possibly forged documents that were provided to the Central Bank during the takeover process of the refinery and Bullen Bay. At an even earlier stage, a complaint was also filed against an investor who allegedly submitted forged documents to CPR.
The search for a new operator has proved to be a path of many failures, with one potential candidate after another refraining from taking over.
The former MDPT, the Multidisciplinary Team that had to supervise the modernization of the Isla refinery, turned out to cost a lot of money itself.
Figuring out an alternative scenario for the Isla site instead of continuing the oil industry was immediately pushed aside with the MDPT. Curaçao may now be able to break that up reasonably well.
The Prime Minister also reported this morning that an urgent alternative should be sought to find employment for the middle class. According to Pisas, Curaçao cannot rely solely on tourism.