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ABVO-SXM Union, WICSU PSU Union and Total Cleaning Company updated.

Simpson Bay, St. Maarten (Tuesday September 8, 2020) The Airport is prepared to embark on a 107-million-dollar renovation development despite setbacks due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The trailblazers of the Project Management Unit (PMU) of the Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company N.V. (PJIAE) proclaimed during a virtual Public Outreach Campaign with the media, that the preliminary works for the Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project is planned to kick off with the start of the Phase 2 Mold Remediation, Surface Decontamination, Dismantling and Removal process in September 2020. Additionally, the bids submittal was published by the aviation company for the Waste Management Disposal contract with an intent to commence works late September, following the official award of contract.

The development materialized given the desolation of the Terminal Building by the untimely hurricanes Irma, Maria and Jose in 2017. A series of assemblies were hosted since October 2019 during the ongoing Public Outreach Campaign by the Corporate Communication Department with the intent to offer information disclosure and attain feedback from stakeholders about the Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project. The Public Outreach Campaign is interrelated with the approved Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP), to maximize and manage the awareness of the project.

The Public Outreach Campaign encompassed both internal and external stakeholders like the Simpsonbay Community Association, Beacon Hill Community Council, the Tourism Stakeholders Committee, Air Service Development Committee (ASDC), Concessionaires, Airlines and Handlers, and Airport staff. Furthermore, the Management and staff of the Total Cleaning Company, WICSU-PSU union and ABVO-SXM union were all addressed by the Project Director of the Project Management Unit, Mirto Breell during meetings which reconvened in July 2020. Recipients were also able to view a preview of the project through an audiovisual, granting access to a virtual tour of the project, which announced the trajectory of the complete timeline and associated events.

The SXM Airport will be one of the largest and most cutting-edge terminals in the region, reintroducing a new Executive lounge, state of the art baggage systems, hurricane proof doors, installation of additional escalators, enhanced public amenities and new technologies to improve security screening. We are also happy to announce that additional features will also include the Hold baggage screening areas, Check-in area, Departure hall area with Passenger Boarding Bridges (PBB), car rental relocation area, airlines and executive offices and mechanical rooms, disclosed the PMU Project Director during the Public Outreach Campaign with the media.

The process of the bid submittal for the Mold Remediation project, included a total of twenty-one companies that forwarded an Expression of Interest (EOI) towards the project. All parties joined the first virtual tour to gain more information on the project in August 2020. Six (6) contractors also expressed interest for the vacant Supervising Engineer position, Breell added.

When the media queried about the start and completion date of the project, the PMU Director reaffirmed that the contractors mobilization begins in September 2020 with both the Mold Remediation and the Waste Management projects, which is scheduled to be accomplished by January 2021. Moreover, the start of the reconstruction will officially begin in April 2021, while the undated completion target date is projected for February 2023.

We have the funding back in place, and now we are finalizing the bidding documents to go out in September 2020, for the bids to be completed and the work to proceed. Our current focus is to get the reconstruction completed and the Terminal Building back to pre-Irma conditions once again. As there is work shortage due to the COVID-19, we HOPE that this works in our favor allowing more contractors to be readily available for the renovation project.

We dont believe that COVID-19 will be here for the next twenty years, but we are looking at how we can implement sneeze guards, touchless systems and safety guards at the SXM Airport. Plans are being deliberated to include removal safety guards for the protection at the Check-In counters, gates and Immigration counters, concluded the Project Director.

This project is implemented by the Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company N.V. (PJIAE) and the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB). It is being subsidized by the Sint Maarten Trust Fund, which is managed by the World Bank, and the European Investment Bank (EIB) through a loan from the Government of Sint Maarten to PJIAE N.V.