Philipsburg:--- Minister of Justice Roland Duncan will be presenting his project for the BOX to the Council of Ministers on Thursday while he will present the entire project to Parliament on Friday.
SMN News learnt the BOX will cost the government of St. Maarten 67 million guilders to build a second prison and other judicial facilities. The Justice Minister will also be turning the BBW Building into a justice park. The justice park will be the official shooting range for police officers and other law enforcement that are in training.
According to well placed sources, the Minister intends to have the Ministry of VROMI change the zoning of the Cay Hill area where the BOX is located to a public area and not a private or commercial area as it is currently listed. Sources close to the Ministry said that since the BOX will be used by the government of St. Maarten as a prison facility there will be no need to breakdown the third floor of the building which was constructed without the necessary building permits.
When SMN News contacted the Minister of Justice on Wednesday for information regarding his project and the justice park, the Minister said that it is not ethical for him to release the information to the media prior to making it available to the Council of Ministers. However, he did say the entire project will be presented to Parliament on Friday where the people of St. Maarten and those that have political power can see and approve the project.
