On Wednesday August 7, the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) signed two
contracts for the repairs and the provision of new equipment to 13 shelter locations. Present at the brief
signing ceremony were the Honorable Prime Minister, Leona Romeo-Marlin, Mr. Roberto Arrindell,
Director of Confidence Construction, Mr. Claret Connor, Director of the NRPB and Mr. Piet van
Ommeren, NRPB Project Manager.

Shelters are important during emergency situations. Most of the shelter locations on Sint Maarten are
used for other purposes throughout the year. Only at critical times, such as a hurricane, they are opened
to the public. The list of the shelter locations that will be repaired can be found here on the NRPB website.

The repair works to shelter locations mainly consist of replacing windows, doors and shutters. In
addition, new generators, diesel tanks and underground water tanks will placed at four shelter locations.
The contractor has already ordered the generators and the diesel tanks. The work is scheduled to start
around August 21. The total time to complete all the works is estimated to take about two months.
The shelter repairs and equipment are part of the Emergency Recovery Project of the Sint Maarten
Trust Fund, which is financed by the Government of the Netherlands, managed by the World Bank and
implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau.