Willemstad/St. Maarten– Following the improved border control on the Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten will, by order of the Minister of Justice David Dick, receive an accommodation centre for foreign nationals who do not have the required residence documents. The holding centre will be situated next to the police station in Simpson Bay.
The building will consist of three wards, including one for women. It will have day-and night accommodations and on each floor, there will be an open air space. All of the wards will have several toilets and showers, and a separate room with a bathroom for a family. The day centre will be equipped with a television, books, and games to pass the time.
The building compound is designed to take in a maximum of 64 undocumented persons. “They are not meant to be detained for a long period of time,” says the Minister. “In general two days is the time needed to deport people from the Antilles? When someone does not have a passport, is not willing to talk or not willing to cooperate, it will take longer.” The holding centre has a room reserved for lawyers, where the detained clients can converse with their attorney. Those who are deported will be denied entry to the country for a period of three years. This will be checked through the database of the holding centre, which is linked to the border control system at the airport.
“St.Maarten has had plans for a holding centre for more than ten years already,” says Ivan Fraites, project leader Building and Housing for Plan Veiligheid Nederlandse Antillen, the program whereby the new building will be financed. “The island has waited a long time for it, but this multifunctional building meets all expectations.”
It entails a new building based on the design of Indepent Consulting Engineers, which also designed the Simpson Bay police station. A two-story building will be built on the parking lot next to the police station, whereby the entire ground floor will be reserved for cars.
The architectural design fits the style of the surrounding buildings, and in addition completely adheres to the requirements imposed by the justice department. The design of the building compound takes the safety regulations, privacy of the undocumented persons and the physical situation such as sufficient lighting and ventilation into consideration. The holding centre meets the requirements of the CPT, the European Committee regarding torture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Five local construction companies have shown an interest in the execution of the project. These five applications are being evaluated at the moment. The selected contractors will receive an invitation for participation in the application for the execution of the project in the near future. The call for tenders’ period will take about eight weeks, after which the project can be assigned. The expectation is to start the construction in October.
