PHILIPSBURG–Finance Minister Ardwell Irion said on Wednesday that St. Maarten had received a 61.2-million-guilder loan from the Netherlands on December 28.

The funds were transferred to St. Maarten’s Dutch guilder account at the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS).

“We appreciate this and I thank all those involved in the negotiations and the process of the discussions we had to reach this point,” Irion said during the virtual live Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday.

The necessary agreements for the third tranche of liquidity support for the country was signed on December 22 during a virtual signing ceremony between St. Maarten’s Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops.

The agreement stipulates that St. Maarten will immediately receive NAf. 61.2 million (30.6 million euros) in the third tranche of liquidity support, covering the period July 1 until December 31. The agreement will also pave the way for future tranches.

The agreement further secured refinancing of the NAf. 50 million loan for 15 years. The extension of the repayment of this loan averted default by the St. Maarten government.

The Netherlands is further making 30 million euros available for the construction of a new prison and improvements to existing detention facilities.

Bron: Daily Herald