Kralendijk – Island governor Edison Rijna recently received a so-called ‘BIC award’ at the annual meeting of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA) on behalf of Bonaire. This award is awarded on the initiative of the European Union and aims to stimulate innovation in the area of Business, Innovation and Creativity (BIC).

Innovation is an important topic in Bonaire. In addition to the Bonaire AlgaeParc project currently in the start-up phase, for which Bonaire has received a grant from the European Union, the ‘fresh water mill’ for which Bonaire won the BIC award, is a second major innovation project for the island.

Governor Edison Rijna and Deputy of Economic Development Clark Abraham On June 6, handed over the BIC award to the initiator of the fresh water mill, Mr. Willem van Hees of consulting firm ProCarib. With this innovative windmill, salt (sea) water, through a reverse osmosis plant, can be converted into fresh water. This also allows remote locations in the outlying area to access fresh water for farming purposes. At this moment, the possibilities for the placement of such a mill on Bonaire are investigated.