PHILIPSBURG:--- During today's Question Hour in Parliament, what should have been a straightforward update on the Marketplace project instead became a glaring spotlight on a lack of progress, questionable timelines, and significant public funds spent with little to show for it. Member of Parliament Darryl York’s pointed questions to the Minister of TEATT, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, peeled back the curtain on a project that seems to be going nowhere fast.
The core of the issue was laid bare when MP York pressed the Minister on payments made to the contractor. The response was staggering: a deposit of approximately 467,000 guilders has already been paid. While some of this amount was reportedly for "contractual works" and "additional works requested by VROMI," the tangible results of this expenditure are invisible to the public. To make matters worse, we learned that just over 200,000 guilders of this sum remains as a "credit" with the contractor, already committed to suppliers and materials for a construction that has yet to begin in earnest.
This raises an immediate and critical question of accountability. How have nearly half a million guilders been disbursed for a project that remains a vacant promise?
The financial revelations were compounded by the Minister’s confusing explanation regarding the project’s timeline. In August, the public was told the marketplace would be completed in six to eight months; four months later, with no visible progress, that promise evaporated. The Minister attempted to clarify that her previous projection was based on a design and cost framework that has since changed.
The official reason for this new delay? Adjustments to the roof design. The decision to incorporate a polycarbonate structure, intended to improve natural lighting, apparently required the contractor to get a new quotation from a manufacturer. According to the Minister, this process "took longer than anticipated" and was the "exact holdup." This explanation is an insult to the public's intelligence. A design change on a roof has somehow stalled the entire project for months, conveniently after a completion timeline was publicly announced.
The facts presented in Parliament today paint a grim picture. A significant amount of public money has been spent, a publicly announced timeline has been discarded, and the official justification rests on a delayed roof quote. This is not a story of unforeseen complications; it is a story of poor planning, a lack of transparency, and a failure to deliver. The people deserve more than shifting goalposts and excuses. They deserve accountability for their money and a clear, honest path forward for the Marketplace project. As of today, they have received neither.
