Air traffic in Aruba in danger
ORANJESTAD — Delays in the air traffic from Aruba are so substantial that several airliners are considering suspending their flights. Apparently the main reason seems to be due to the malfunctioning radar in Curaçao, the use of outdated software and an unreliable radio communication between the control towers of the Reina Beatrix and Hato airports. American Airlines already threatened to cancel the connections between Aruba and San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Peter Steinmetz, director of Aruba Airport Authority (AAA), admits that there are problems and stated they have been trying to bring this matter to the attention of minister Edison Briesen (MEP) of Tourism and Transportation and Ady Maduro of the Aviation administration. “Up till now it has not yielded any resultsâ€, stated Steinmetz. The problems continue to escalate, because aircrafts on the runway oftentimes need to wait for an hour or even longer before they are cleared for take off and sometimes they can’t even leave the gate.
The delays are especially damaging for connections to hubs in the US, where passengers need to change flights to reach their final destination. In most cases when these passengers miss their connecting flights due to reasons beyond their control, the airliner oftentimes covers the expenses of meals and eventual stay-overs.
Steinmetz has been given to understand that the air traffic control in Curaçao is waiting for the move of their department to a new building and that they are also waiting for new equipment. He considers it unacceptable that he can’t inform the users of ‘his’ airport on when they can expect an improvement. “Curaçao has been using this argument for too long.†What AAA can do is try to get the problem included in the agenda of the reunion of a delegation of the kingdom who will visit Aruba shortly to discuss a security investigation by the international civil aviation organization ICAO. “This is a kingdom’s affair and pressure could be exerted on Curaçao from The Netherlands to put their affairs in orderâ€, stated Steinmetz.
The tower control in Curaçao supervises a large section of the airspace surrounding the ABC-islands. This aerospace is also largely used by aircrafts that fly from South-America to northern destinations. If the traffic can’t be controlled with the help of radar, it is done trough radio contact. This takes more time however which is why the safe distance between two flights is automatically made larger. Steinmetz estimates that the routes can be flown by approx. four times the amount of aircrafts with radar controls compared to the current situation.
Ineke Lampe, manager of American Airlines op Aruba, declared in front of TV cameras that she found it strange that the AA flights from Curaçao to San Juan did manage to depart on time. During the same program the Antillean minister of Transportation, Omayra Leeflang (PAR), offered her apologies and declared to expect to see a clear report on the delays as to find a solution to the problem. “It’s not a problem related with personnel,†stated the Antillean minister, “because we have sufficient traffic controllers in place.†She did not however come up with a possible solution.
The association of traffic conductors in Aruba indicated that the service from Curaçao’s end certainly left a lot to be desired, but that the problem did not only focus there. The radar doesn’t only malfunction in Curaçao; it malfunctions in Aruba as well. The omni directional beacon at the Reina Beatrix airport has been out of service for approx. a year and a half. The one in Curaçao on the other hand is still operational and according to the Aruban traffic conductors it accounts for better results. Another point that can’t be blamed on Curaçao is the fact that the flight connections between Aruba and the US have increased in frequency and thus also the amount of traffic in the airspace.
Air Traffic Control can’t meet the requirements set in the current situation. The air traffic conductors also point out the added pressure they must deal with and warn that this could lead to what they call ‘human error’.
The air traffic conductors believe that the beacon at the airport should become operational again as soon as possible, but that more importantly the radar installations in Curaçao as well as Aruba should be put to use. This would not only increase the efficiency but also the air traffic’s safety. The air traffic conductors cynically point out that minister Briesen has been promising to solve the radar problem for four years, but that nothing has yet been done. The radar is also not mentioned in the governing program of the recently appointed cabinet. “Don’t only look for the splinter in the eye of Curaçao, but look at the two by four in your own eye.
Dismantling of brewery has started
The dismantling of the former Amstel Brewery at the Emancipation Boulevard must be completed in February.
CURACAO – The dismantling of the Antillean Brewery has started. The brewing installation and other parts of the brewery will be taken apart and packed up to be sent to other Heineken breweries in the region. According to manager Gilmar Winklaar, the company has already found several buyers in the region, as well as elsewhere.
The dismantling came about after the shareholders of the Antillean Brewery had decided to definitely stop production late September. Since then, the brewery had dedicated itself to the redundancy of the personnel. The Labour Affairs service had given the brewery permission to dismiss 47 employees. One employee has compromised and three others are waiting for the decision of the court.
Not only the brewing material is being dismantled, but also the basement- and filling part of the brewery is being broken up. The Amstel will also have to decide on what to do with the property at the Emancipation Boulevard. This is a prime location and there is a lot of interest. The fact that the Antillean Brewery has found a market for her machines makes it impossible for interest parties to start a new brewery on the island.
DIGICEL WAITS
The fastest growing telecommunications company in the region will probably have to wait until the new year to find out if it can add the assets of Cingular Barbados to its list of regional acquisitions of that company.
Barbados remains the only island out of a total of 10 regional countries where Digicel has not yet received regulatory approval to acquire Cingulars assets, and CEO of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), Peggy Griffith, said the process was on schedule, but declined to say whether or not it could be finished before year end.
While not giving up on the possibility of a before year-end decision from the FTC, Digicel CEO, Kevin White said the company was working very closely with the FTC, and was hoping for an approval of the application sometime early in January 2006.
White said while Digi-cels operations were not really affected by the waiting period for a decision from the FTC, it was the staff and management at Cingular Barbados that would really appreciate a quick end to the process.
The sooner it happens, the better for the staff at Cingular. There is more uncertainty for Cingulars staff and customers, and it will be better to them to have the deal closed as soon as possible, White said.
He added that though Digicel was optimistic about the outcome of the FTC investigation into the Barbados merger appli-cation, the company was aware that the FTC had its job to do, and was prepared to accept its findings either way.
Obviously, we hope that has been done in all the other islands, Barbados will approve also, White said. He explained that should the FTC approve the merger, this would pave the way for the integration of the two companies in Barbados, whereas if the decision was in the negative, the likely response would be simply for the companies to continue operating as they do now.
White said the ability to integrate the two com- panies in Barbados, as elsewhere in the region, would not only increase the companys market share in every island, but would allow for a more efficient operation that would redound to the benefit of its customers.
Cingular customers will now benefit from the competitive advantages that Digicel customers already enjoy, and Digicel customers will likewise benefit from the advantages that Cingular brings. So this creates a stronger company with a wider product portfolio that would not be possible otherwise.
While Barbados can be seen as the last to come on board with this merger decision, it must also be borne in mind that of the participating countries, Barba-dos is the only one with a separate and distinct competition regulator fully established in the law, with a mandate to carry out such investigations. While the intention is for all states to move in this direction, and some are in the process of doing so, these functions in other regional states where Cingular operated are still being carried out by ministries of government, or similar civil service agency.
Digicels increased pan-Caribbean GSM network now includes Bermuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts & Nevis and Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Cay-man Islands and Antigua & Barbuda and the company is awaiting regulatory approval in Barbados.
Digicel has also fully acquired the Cingular Wireless licenses in Jamaica, as well as network assets in the Nether-lands Antilles island of Curacao, where Digicel already operates following its acquisition of Curacao Telecom in March 2005. Digicels agreement with Cingular Wireless also includes the planned acquisition of Cingulars licences in the French West Indies islands of St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Barts.
Starwood’s Curacao Venture
NEW YORK -Barely a week after breaking ground on a new Westin in St. Maartens, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has signed a letter of intent to build the Westin Curacao Resort & Casino, a 350-room luxury hotel on the island that houses the capital of the Netherlands Antilles.
Starwood (nyse: HOT – news – people ) is expected to operate the property, and it will reportedly invest a small amount of debt in the roughly $100 million construction of the project, which should be completed by 2008. The Dutch Antilles pension fund and the local government together are providing an additional $25 million and a long-term ground lease for the project.
The resort is a joint venture between Curacao-based Halabi Real Estate and Westwood Capital, a New York-based concern. They are developing the project under the name JanThiel Resort Development, after the site on JanThielBay in the southern tip of Curacao where the hotel is to be located.
The new hotel–and its 15,000-square-foot Starwood-branded spa–should command top rates for the island, around $400 per night in high season today. But that will rise as air traffic heats up.
Westin Hotels & Resorts is one of Starwood’s top brands. It has 121 hotels and resorts in 31 countries and territories. Starwood also owns the W and Sheraton brands, and owns or manages some 850 properties in 95 countries.
The announcement of a new resort and casino marks a ratcheting up of Curacao’s ambitions to cater to a broader U.S. market. Hyatt broke ground in late November on its own 350-room resort, and a smaller Renaissance project is also under way; these hotels will join an older Marriott in the city center of the capital, Willemstad.
The island’s tourist traffic, especially from America, has been overshadowed for years by its sister, Aruba, which is saturated with high-rise hotels and time shares. By contrast, Curacao has a modest array of resorts catering mainly to a Dutch, British and South American clientèle.
Although the only direct flights to Curacao from the U.S. have long originated in Miami, Continental Airlines (nyse: CAL – news – people ) will begin a weekly Saturday flight from Newark on Dec. 17 in a test of American Airlines (nyse: AMR – news – people )’ market dominance of the Antilles.
The Westin will not be a condo-hotel, says Westwood principal Dan Alpert. Because of the government’s support, “this can be a straight hotel,” he says. “The number of hotel deals that make sense to invest in without a sales component are few and far between.” The developers have hired architects Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe to design the resort.
Starwood has a number of other Caribbean and Latin American properties from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands through Mexico to Chile and Brazil.
Source: Forbes
Lessened operations in Pdvsa refinery in Curacao after fire
Output in Isla, a refinery based in Curacao, property of state oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), is still reduced after a fire that damaged a catalytic unit last Sunday, spokesman Elise Krijt told AFP.
“We are under the standard processing of 200,000 b/d, at 160,000 b/d. Next week, following commissioning of the cracking unit, we will be up again,” Krijt noted.
Last Sunday night, a fire started in a pipe of the catalytic unit, which was stopped for security reasons.
Krijt commented that a crew is investigating into the causes of the fire and ascertaining the damages caused. So far, there are no official estimates of the losses.
The official stressed that the refinery will be fully operational next week.
Shell Fenceline Communities: Shell CEO Must Deliver On His Promises
Filed under: Business and Economy, Oil Industry, Press Releases
AMSTERDAM – December 8 – Communities living on the fenceline of Shell’s operations from around the world met today with Shell CEO Van de Veer to ask for concrete commitments to solve their serious environmental and health problems.
Van de Veer agreed to a direct line of communication from the fenceline communities to the highest level of decision making within Royal Dutch Shell. However, Van der Veer did not want to take ultimate responsibility for the operations of his local facilities, which is a matter of concern to the fenceline groups.
Shell admitted that stakeholder dialogue must be improved and that monitoring of emissions can be done better, but claims that it cannot prescribe or dictate specific improvements to local plant managers. Shell refused to agree upon criteria for the engagement of community groups on environmental issues.
Before the company’s AGM in April 2006, the groups will report to Shell and the public what progress has been made on these issues. The groups will continue to campaign locally and globally to stop the company’s wrongdoings. Shell will be expected to deliver on its promises, particularly in projects under development where crucial construction decisions will be made, such as those in County Mayo, Ireland and Sakhalin Island.
“Shell talks about its philosophies, but philosophy doesn’t fix pipelines and it doesn’t cure pollution-related illness” says Norbert George from Curacao. “The ball is in Shell’s court to show that they live up to their standards, and this should be demonstrated by concrete actions.”
“Shell’s double standards have been well documented,” said Desmond D’sa from Durban, South Africa. “They use cleaner and safer technologies at the Shell refinery in Denmark than they do in Durban, for example.”__
Shell’s management agreed to a direct line of communication for fenceline neighbors to the CEO, and also agreed to consider the installation of real time fenceline air monitoring at their refineries. However, the company declined to agree to the following requests: objective criteria for engaging appropriate stakeholders on environmental issues (denied); expedited timeline for upgrading aging equipment in developing countries (denied); a joint process to determine responsibility for contamination from operations (denied); and the erasure of double standards in their operations in developed nations versus developing nations (disagreement upon the facts).__
The delegation from Shell consisted of high-level senior managers. From the fenceline communities, there were representatives from Nigeria, South Africa, Curacao, Texas and Brazil. Shell’s operations have been a concern of the global alliance of fenceline communities for three years, and affected groups have issued numerous reports documenting Shell’s poor performance.
For more information see: www.shellfacts.com
Where the Heck is Curacao?
The 2006 UCI mountain bike racing schedule gets started on April 1st in Curacao and finishes up on September 10th in Schladming, Austria. For many of us in North America, the nearest UCI venue is Mont Saint Anne, Canada which hosts the World Cup marathon on June 17-18th, and the other World Cup disciplines on June 24-25th.
I can’t say that I follow UCI mountain bike racing with any degree of fervor, but as I read the schedule I immediately became intrigued by a place called Curacao. I’d never heard of Curacao before. I had no idea where Curacao was. Fortunately a quick trip to Google.com made up for my geographical inadequacies. I learned that Curacao is a small island in the eastern Caribbean, lying 12 degrees north of the equator, just off the coast of Venezuela. I discovered that Curacao is a part of the Netherlands Antilles and is an autonomous part of the Netherlands.
As I type, the thermometer outside my office window reads 10 degrees F. According to the Curacao tourism board website it’s currently partly cloudy and 79 F in Curacao. And they do have mountain bike trails. I think I’m in love with Curacao.
Come to think of it, the weather in Pittsburgh isn’t all that lovely in early April either. Uuuuh, gotta run. I just remembered that I need to pop over to Orbitz to check on some ticket prices.
Source: dirtragmag
Curaçao welcomes Hyatt Regency at groundbreaking ceremony
WILLEMSTAD, Curaçao: The ceremonial groundbreaking of the 350-room luxury Hyatt Regency Curaçao took place last Thursday, attended by tourism and hotel officials.
The ceremony, at which Chris Smeets, shareholder and driving force behind the project and Nicholas Pritzker, vice-chairman of Global Hyatt Corporation, placed the first shovel in the ground, officially marks the start of the construction of the mixed use Santa Barbara Plantation project.
The project will encompass not only the luxury Hyatt Regency Curaçao hotel, but also as a 30-slip marina, beach club, 52 vacation club units, 128 condominium homes, 106 residential lots and 94 terrace homes. Additionally, it will include an 18-hole championship golf course, the first signature golf course on the island, designed by top golf architect Peter Dye. It will be the largest hotel on the island and the first large hotel to open since the Sonesta (which is now a Marriott) was completed in 1992.
This groundbreaking will pave the way for a string of branded properties expected to build on the island, such as Renaissance, Westin and Four Points by Sheraton.
Dr. Emsley D. Tromp, President of the Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles, in opening remarks welcoming the Hyatt, reflected on the tremendous economic impact the project will have for the island.
Ivar Asjes, Curaçao’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Tourism was also in attendance to lend his support for the project, “The ceremonial groundbreaking is a milestone for the island of Curaçao. This project is a symbol of the growth and prosperity that we have to look forward to as we continue to implement the infrastructure needed to accommodate the growth in tourism to our island. We welcome the Hyatt family and know it will be a successful union for everyone involved,†commented Asjes.
The Curaçao government supported the initiative with a soft loan of $16 million. The total investment for the first phase of the project is approximately $104 million. An estimated 700 people will be employed as a result of this project during its construction and an additional 700 permanent jobs once it is complete.
“With our continued growth in tourism from the U.S. market, we need the rooms in order to accommodate the increase in visitors. We expect visitor numbers to continue to climb as steps are put into place to encourage tourism, starting with the launch of a new non-stop flight from Newark to Curaçao on Continental beginning December 17, 2005,†Asjes said. Completion of the Hyatt Regency Curaçao is planned for late 2007.
Curaçao, located outside of the hurricane belt, boasts an eclectic mix of history and culture, which creates a Caribbean experience like no other. Also known for its eco-tourism and pristine diving conditions, Curaçao attracts the adventure traveler as well as those looking to unwind and enjoy its perfect climate.
Visitors to Curaçao will enjoy an 18-hole championship golf course, casinos and much more. American Airlines offers daily flights into Curaçao from Miami. Contact hotels or travel agents directly for more information. To learn more about Curaçao or to receive a free destination DVD visit www.curacao.com.