Kadaster St. Maarten advances plans for Cables and Lines Information Center

GREAT BAY--Kadaster St. Maarten is moving forward with plans to establish a Cables and Lines Information Center (CLIC), a major step toward safer and more coordinated underground infrastructure management on the island.

The initiative follows recent discussions between Director Benjamin Ortega of Kadaster St. Maarten and senior representatives of Kadaster Netherlands, including Vincent Siegmund (Director, Operations, Services and Registration), Caroline Groot (Product Manager, KLIC), and Mathilde Molendijk (Program Manager, Caribbean Netherlands).

The meeting served as an introduction between both organisations’ management teams and focused on the exchange of expertise surrounding the Dutch KLIC system, which provides a secure national portal for digital information on cables and pipelines. Drawing on the Netherlands’ successful model and guided by international best practices such as the UK’s National Underground Asset Register, Kadaster St. Maarten aims to implement a localized version of CLIC by 2026, in close collaboration with the Ministry of VROMI.

To formalize this cooperation, Kadaster St. Maarten and various relevant stakeholders are finalising a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining shared objectives for CLIC’s establishment. The agreement designates Kadaster as the official registry authority for all underground infrastructure and as the custodian of the national Base Infrastructure Map, the island’s single source of authoritative spatial data for planning, permitting, and development.

“The CLIC initiative will allow all utility and infrastructure stakeholders to access accurate, up-to-date information before excavation, minimising damage risks and improving coordination across the island,” said Mr. Ortega. “This is an important step toward a more digital, sustainable, and data-driven land administration system for Sint Maarten.”

The upcoming MOU also envisions enhancing data sharing between government departments, utilities, and key partners, paving the way for more integrated spatial planning and climate-resilient infrastructure management.

Further working sessions will continue into 2026 as Kadaster St. Maarten refines the system’s governance model, technical framework, and stakeholder engagement strategy ahead of full implementation.

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