Business View Caribbean, July/August 2018

36 37 BVM: Prime Minister, can you describe what you see as the primary role of the office and how it provides support and governance to the businesses and citizens of Curaçao? Rhuggenaath: “Since October 10, 2010, when Curaçao attained its country status, there’s been political instability.We’ve had several cabinets and, in certain ministries, there have been too many changes of leadership at the top level. Therefore, one of the most important contributions I want to accomplish is stabili- ty and the implementation of our government program to regain the confidence in government and the country, in general.And the way we want to do this is to promote transparency and integ- rity, but also,myself as Prime Minister, because I do believe in servant leadership,where I act as facilitator for building bridges to business, and working more collaboratively both with govern- ment and with the civil society.” BVM: In a recent article, you said that you have several priorities that you are focused on: PRIME MINISTER OF CURAÇAO AT A GLANCE PRIME MINISTER EUGENE RHUGGENAATH WHAT: Prime Minister of Curacao WHERE: Willemstad, Curaçao WEBSITE: www.gobiernu.cw the Tourism Master Plan, the investment climate, the devel- opment of the harbor and the maritime sector, and the air- port. Can you speak about your goals concerning those issues and what accomplishments you have made so far in pursuit of them? Rhuggenaath: The airport expansion is about a $35 million investment that is now in the last phases of completion.What is missing there is the development of the areas surround- ing the airport,where we have some properties. But together with Curinde, the companyman- aging our economic zone at the airport, and Curaçao Airport Holding,which is the government-owned com- pany that owns the property, I believe we can create synergies that attract business or real estate development related to airport activities. There is a lot of opportunity for growth. “With regards to the harbor, there have been some very positive developments there. The ship repair yard has been partially privat- ized in the sense that it is being operated by Damen Shipyards, which is a Dutch, multi-na- tional company. A few weeks ago, we received two new floating docks there, expanding the