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Published On: Mon, Sep 7th, 2020

Mullet Bay once again takes center stage

No one on St. Maarten, living and working on the island in the 70s and 80s, was not affected by Mullet Bay in one form or another. Every family had at least one or more relatives that worked at Mullet Bay. Many professionals today on St. Maarten started their careers at Mullet Bay.

Can you imagine the psychological impact on people’s psyche what it means to have then Mullet Bay remain undeveloped for over 25 years? Can you imagine that a handful of people systematically kept Mullet Bay undeveloped for personal gain all these years? The financial, economic, and social loss this has meant for the island and its people is incalculable.

How ironic is it now that Mullet Bay is the key to St. Maarten’s economic redevelopment in a post-pandemic era. Or at least, can be. If people actually put their money where their mouths are. If Mullet Bay is worth almost 500 million US Dollars, why not make that financial value a reality? Mullet Bay could very well be worth ten times that amount once redeveloped to its full potential.

There are billions in investment capital seeking a haven to be invested. Presently, right now in St. Maarten, hundreds of millions of dollars in cash are looking for an investment home. What are we waiting on? Start a public-private partnership and set up a special purpose investment vehicle, and let’s start raising the capital. When we have raised sufficient money to finance Mullet Bay’s purchase and development as a resort property, we can execute the plan and put it into implementation. We may very well be able to raise over one billion dollars. Wouldn’t ENNIA and its policyholders be happy? ENNIA may very well choose to bring in the Mullet Bay property into this special purpose vehicle (SPV). This investment would be in exchange for shares and a guaranteed ROI of a minimum of 4 to 5% once Mullet Bay is redeveloped and put back into commercial operation.

St. Maarten alone has access to 150 million US Dollars in recovery funds that can be leveraged and turned into 1,5 billion US Dollars in development funding. It is incredible and equally disappointing to see that the powers-that-be do not allow us to utilize this option. Why not? Do we not as a people deserve this possibility that is freely afforded to others? Why can’t we?

Mullet Bay is the key to St. Maarten’s economic redevelopment in a post-pandemic period. Let’s seriously start looking at that option.

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Upcoming articles (stay tuned):
Have taxes been paid?
– The Karma that is Mullet Bay
– What is Mullet Bay really worth? To whom?

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The StMaartenNews.com Mullet Bay dossier
The Mullet Bay Parliamentary Inquiry
ENNIA company holding structure

Photo caption: Screenshot of Mullet Bay photo on Vigilante Curacao News