Civil Infrastructure of Suriname since 1945

Infrastructure is an important aspect of Suriname’s cultural landscape. In 2015, a book was published that describes the country’s history of civil infrastructure before 1945, consisting of plantations, canals, sluices and railroads. An upcoming book by the same authors, Hillebrand Ehrenburg and Marcel Meyer, focuses on the development of civil infrastructure after 1945. The book describes the big picture of the country’s infrastructural development, but also the many individual projects and players in the building sector at large. It pays tribute to the most important pioneers, who had to deal with the harsh conditions of swamps and tropical rain forests. The authors interviewed over forty people who played an important role in this history, such as civil servants, politicians, contractors and consultants. Their collective memories cover the entire span of almost 75 years. Further research for the project has mainly been conducted in public and private libraries in Suriname and at the National Archives in Suriname and the Netherlands.