THE HAGUE - The redevelopment of the Plaza hotel must be done carefully in consultation with Unesco to avoid jeopardizing Willemstad's World Heritage status. This is according to the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sport (OCW)Ingrid van Engelshoven. In a letter to the General Pension Fund Curacao (APC) and the Heritage Plaza Consortium (HPC), Van Engelshoven offers guidance from the Cultural Heritage Agency.
Earlier, APC and HPC sent the minister a letter to explain that with the project they want to breathe new life into the city and improve the business climate for Punda and Otrobanda. Van Engelshoven emphasizes in a response that the Minister of Traffic, Transport and Spatial Planning (VVRP) as the site holder of the World Heritage will have to be involved in the project.
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has indicated that it wishes to provide support in reporting the project to UNESCO. “Informing the World Heritage Center about a major intervention in a World Heritage site is an obligation linked to its status,” said the minister. “This requires a preliminary investigation into the plans, in order to be able to determine at a later stage whether and how buildings can be integrated into the world heritage site without affecting its universal value. The Central Government Agency can advise on this, in which the Ministry of VVRP will be involved.”
In addition, according to Van Engelshoven, there is also room for discussion about technical support for the project. The Curaçao government will have to submit a request for this. The minister was less enthusiastic about the suggestion to include the project in the talks about the COHO, which is the Caribbean Organ for Reform and Development. “Urban renewal such as the Plaza project is not part of the country package.”
The UNESCO World Heritage Convention will be 50 years old in 2022. According to the various parties, the existing cooperation protocol offers a good basis for working on a new future for the historic structure of Willemstad.