Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten says the foundation is poured and hopes to complete the building in the first quarter of 2027. Plans for vendor rules, management and utility charges are still being worked out.
PHILIPSBURG— Construction of the Soualiga Marketplace has moved beyond its foundation, with crews beginning work on the building itself, according to Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten. She hopes to complete it between January and March 2027, although she declined to promise a specific opening date.
Speaking on Live with Lady Grace in the Breakfast Lounge, Heyliger-Marten said the project is using insulated concrete forms rather than conventional blocks. She said much of the structure could be erected within two weeks, but emphasized that substantial work would still be needed afterward.
The timetable means vendors will not move in at the start of the coming tourist season. “We can’t stop it. We have to just keep it going,” the minister said of the construction schedule.
Heyliger-Marten said the marketplace is intended to accommodate approximately 50 to 60 vendors, including those currently operating around the courthouse, the former government building, the taxi parking area and the Boardwalk. She said there would be room for the existing vendors. She said an earlier ambition to fit about 80 booths was reduced to give individual vendors enough space.
Each vendor would have a lockable booth, with merchandise left on display instead of being carried in and out each day. The building is also planned to include restrooms, a kitchenette, seating and four food stalls. Heyliger-Marten said vendors would have access to card-payment facilities, allowing them to serve visitors who do not carry cash.
The minister wants the marketplace to give locally made goods a more prominent place alongside vendors’ existing merchandise. She clarified during the interview that imported bags, clothing and other products were not being banned outright. Rather, vendors would be expected to offer a variety of products made in Sint Maarten, creating sales opportunities for local producers and small businesses.
How the building will operate remains under discussion. Heyliger-Marten said her ministry will meet vendors about booth standards and other rules. Inspectors are expected to oversee the facility, while the ministry is considering appointing someone to manage it day-to-day. That arrangement has not been finalized.
Utility charges are also unsettled. Although individual booths are planned to have meters, the minister said she did not want to impose electricity and water bills immediately. The government may cover those costs for an initial period of about a year while it determines the marketplace’s operating expenses, but she described that approach as still under discussion.
The marketplace therefore has a construction target, but several decisions affecting vendors’ daily costs and responsibilities have yet to be made. Heyliger-Marten’s stated goal is to bring them into the new building during the first quarter of 2027, once it is ready.