It was good to note that GEBE has started Phase II of its Water and Electricity Underground Infrastructure Project (see Monday newspaper). Although the work may temporarily bring inconvenience for residents, businesses of the areas mentioned, their access to utilities will become a lot more secure in the near future.
The need to switch from overhead to buried cables became apparent when large parts of the country were left without power for weeks and in some cases up to months after Hurricane Luis in September 1995. Since then efforts to do so have been ongoing, despite setbacks such as other tropical systems, the COVID-19 pandemic and a ransomware attack on the government-owned company.
Involvement of the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) makes sense, because the Dutch-sponsored post-Irma Trust Fund administered by the World Bank is all about resilience. There can be little doubt the latter has been enhanced by hardly interrupting the flow of energy during storms.
With much of its telecommunications network also underground, St. Maarten is now an example of weather-resistance in the region. That’s important for the destination and ability of its tourism economy to rebound as well.
