Business View Caribbean - July 2016 37
with cost,” he explains. “If you buy everything local,
you spend a lot more money than if you procure your
materials from outside the island. If you’re in a bidding
process, you need to be low. So most of our materials
- we import ourselves.”
According to Hootsmans, business has been sluggish
on Sint Maarten over the last few years, mainly due to
a slack economy and the instability of Sint Maarten’s
government. Indeed, since the island became a con-
stituent country within the
Kingdom of the Netherlands in
2010, it has never had a bal-
anced budget and is mired in
debt. “We just had two very slow
years behind us,” Hootsmans
says, ruefully. “The government
doesn’t have enough possibili-
ties to invest and investors from
outside the islands are very cau-
tious; they’re very slow to start
something. But now, slowly,
slowly, the projects are starting
again.”
Upcoming potential projects for
Liccom include a new hospital
and plans for a new hotel. The
company is also working on the
Rockland Rainforest Adventure
Park project on the Emilio Wil-
son Estate. Approximately $13
million is going to be invested
for the development of a tourist-
focused amusement park while
the estate’s historical build-
ings are going to be restored as
close as possible to their origi-
nal state.
Hootsmans believes that Liccom’s success on Sint
Maarten is due to the quality of its work and its strong
relationships over the years with principals, financiers,
consultants, local sub-contractors, and suppliers. “We
deliver a complete project for the client,” he states.
“We try to achieve the highest possible quality that you
can get on the island. And we do a lot of service, after-
wards. Many colleagues do construction and then you
never see them back. But if our client has a problem or
needs extra service, then we’re always there.”
