WILLEMSTAD – The Joint Court of Justice has recalculated and significantly reduced the compensation owed for delays in the construction of Curaçao’s new hospital. In its final judgment issued on December 2, the Court ruled that contractor Ballast Nedam Infra is entitled to a much lower amount than what had previously been awarded by the disputes committee.
This marks a new phase in the long-running conflict between Ballast Nedam, the Stichting Ontwikkeling Nederlandse Antillen (Sona), and HNO Vastgoed & Beheer, the government entity responsible for developing the hospital project.
The construction delays were caused primarily by sections of the building site not being released on time. The disputes committee had awarded Ballast Nedam substantial damages for these setbacks—amounts that were already paid out. HNO and Sona subsequently took the matter to court, arguing that the contractor had received far more than was justified.
The Joint Court has now carried out an independent reassessment of the damages. For the first phase of delays, the Court set compensation at just over USD 8.2 million, covering direct and indirect costs as well as markups. A new, also reduced calculation applies to the second phase. Notably, the Court capped the contractor’s allowable markup for general costs, profit, and risk at a maximum of ten percent, whereas the disputes committee had accepted considerably higher percentages.
The Court also ruled that Ballast Nedam is entitled to statutory interest but rejected several additional claims, including higher demands for under-recovery and extra inefficiency. These decisions represent a clear departure from key elements of the disputes committee’s earlier rulings.
It remains unclear how the revised calculation will affect amounts already paid out or whether reimbursements may be required. The final financial settlement of Curaçao’s hospital construction project now rests fully with the court as the case proceeds to its next stage.