WILLEMSTAD – Buskabaai N.V. has reduced the financial provision for the remaining remediation of Curaçao's Asphalt Lake from approximately XCG 16 million to nearly XCG 8 million, while the technical studies supporting its remediation approach have not been made publicly available.
The reduction is significant because the former Asphalt Lake site is simultaneously being considered for future economic development, including waste processing, recycling, manufacturing and other circular activities.
According to Buskabaai's 2025 annual report, an important reason for the lower estimated remediation cost is management's conclusion that a considerably larger portion of the remaining filling work can be carried out using clean rubble rather than purchased diabase.
Buskabaai director Ramses Martina has said that the approach is based on technical knowledge and research and has also referred to the involvement of external expertise.
However, the underlying reports have not been provided to the media.
Martina has indicated that he does not consider himself obligated to provide the documents to the press, pointing instead to Buskabaai's accountability to parties including its auditor, Supervisory Board and shareholder.
For some documents, inspection has reportedly been offered under conditions that prohibit copying or removing the material. Confidentiality arrangements have also been cited.
The lack of publicly available technical documentation makes it difficult to independently assess an increasingly important question: what standard is Buskabaai using for the final condition of the remediated land?
That issue takes on additional significance because a September 16 presentation on Curaçao's circular economy identifies Buskabaai and the Asphalt Lake as potential locations for new economic activities.
Possible future projects include waste separation, processing garden waste into compost and other products, using organic residual materials for food production and producing bioplastics.
Whether those projects eventually proceed will depend on further studies and viable business cases. But if the former Asphalt Lake is to accommodate industrial installations or commercial development, the suitability of the remediated land becomes crucial.
The fact that rubble used to fill the area is classified as clean does not by itself establish that the entire site will be suitable for future industrial development.
Environmental questions include the condition of the underlying soil and groundwater and whether remaining contamination could restrict future activities. There are also civil-engineering considerations, including whether the reclaimed terrain will have sufficient stability and bearing capacity for buildings, roads, machinery and processing facilities.
Based on the information made available, Buskabaai has not publicly provided an independent report establishing that its chosen remediation method will produce land that is environmentally and structurally suitable for the economic activities now being considered.
The issue therefore goes beyond the reduction of an accounting provision from approximately XCG 16 million to XCG 8 million.
As Curaçao begins considering economic uses for the land, greater importance is being placed on exactly what the remediation is designed to achieve — and whether the technical evidence demonstrates that the resulting site will be suitable for the development envisioned there.