PPA leader and former minister Otmar Oduber has accused the current Aruban government of deliberately undermining the Secrets hotel project in San Nicolas, describing the situation as an effective boycott of the area’s long-awaited tourism development.
Speaking in response to questions about remarks made by parliamentarian Mike de Meza during a parliamentary meeting near the refinery site, Oduber stated that at some point the facts must be faced. For decades, San Nicolas has seen virtually no benefit from Aruba’s tourism industry, despite repeated promises from politicians across the political spectrum.
Oduber recalled that when he served as minister in 2018, the government introduced a preparation decree (voorbereidingsbesluit) that effectively functioned as a moratorium on new hotel construction across the island. The policy declared that no additional hotels would be permitted in Aruba, even though several projects had already been in the pipeline under previous administrations. That restriction remains in effect today.
According to Oduber, he insisted on one critical exception: San Nicolas would be the only area where a new hotel could be built. Securing that exemption in 2019 required significant political effort, extensive negotiations, and considerable lobbying before the Secrets five-star resort project was finally secured for the city.
Oduber emphasized that for more than 40 years, no government — regardless of political party or color — had managed to deliver a tourism project to San Nicolas. Successive administrations had laid groundwork and made promises, but none followed through until the Secrets project broke ground.
The PPA leader expressed satisfaction that the hotel was ultimately secured for San Nicolas, calling it a hard-won victory after generations of political inaction. However, he said it was staggering to witness the current government appearing to obstruct a project that the city finally obtained after decades of effort by leaders across all parties who had sought to establish San Nicolas as a center of tourism excellence.
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