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The fruit of dissension between elected representatives, the cultural center project is once again under fire. The cause: unforeseen events on the site that could cause further delays.
The debate is not new. Ever since the new majority modified the project for a cultural center, the Saint-Barth d'Abord opposition group has repeatedly expressed its annoyance at the delays to the project. Just two years ago, in February 2023, Romaric Magras expressed his views on the subject in our columns: "After a marked desire on the part of President Xavier Lédée and his majority to put the project on hold to give themselves more time for reflection, the overall cost now stands at almost 32.000,000 euros, whereas it was estimated at 22,695,000 in March 2022. "
A winter break
Let's move forward in time. On February 7, 2025 this time, the Saint-Barth d'Abord group posted a text on a social network to condemn the delay in the construction work and the resulting new expenses. "Today, the work on the cultural center has come to a standstill", the opposition group even claimed, with a photograph to back it up. With this press release, the opponents intend to "react and respond to residents' questions" about the progress of this project, and ask the President of the Collectivité for a "clear roadmap" and respect for budgetary commitments.
And yet, as in 2023, the opposition group is referring to a re-evaluated overall cost of 32 million euros and a delivery date of 2028. So, what has changed in two years? The President of the Collectivité assures us that construction has not come to a standstill. It was indeed halted for a month due to the holiday season, when noisy work is prohibited in Gustavia," explains Bettina Cointre. But since the beginning of the week, work has been able to resume, as Xavier Lédée reassures us. However, at 8.45am on Wednesday morning, there was no activity on the plot (see photo below).
Runoff concerns
However, the Collectivité confirms that the project has suffered from a number of delays. To begin with, the archaeological studies took several months. It wasn't until September 2024 that structural work could begin. However, once on site, the workers noticed landslides on the rock face, necessitating a general reinforcement of the embankments. At the same time, the island experienced very heavy rainfall, which caused landslides in Vitet and Gustavia. The Gustavia site is very sensitive to water runoff, and the drain that had been installed was not correctly sized.
"This project wasn't initially set up properly, and there are some adjustments to be made, in particular to the management of run-off water, which wasn't properly taken into account.This project was not initially set up properly, and there are a number of adjustments to be made, in particular with regard to runoff management, which was not optimized or sufficiently addressed in the project," explains Xavier Lédée. A hydrological study is therefore underway to work on the rainwater recovery system. The plan is to replace the drain with a gutter.
A service provider in difficulty
Another obstacle, this time of an administrative nature, is troubling the technical services. A company that was awarded one of the contract lots is having difficulty providing the services it was contracted to provide. "We're trying to clarify things with them," says Xavier Lédée. However, this situation is preventing progress on the plans for the foundations, which are due to be laid in March. What's more, if the company withdraws, we'll have to reissue contracts to award these lots to another company. This is bound to cause delays. For the time being, the overall cost is estimated at 31 million euros, with delivery scheduled for 2029. One thing's for sure: the cultural center project is still likely to be the subject of much debate.
