How to effectively engage stakeholders? Lessons from the Sint Maarten Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project

Have you ever considered what it takes to reconstruct an international airport in the aftermath of an extreme weather event?

On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma struck Sint Maarten with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. Hurricane Maria followed closely after, bringing heavy rains and storm surge to the island on September 19, 2017. Sint Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) sustained significant damage and faced a daunting task: reopening to receive critical materials for recovery efforts in the short-term and rebuilding the terminal while remaining operational in the medium-term.

The airport, a national treasure and important regional hub, was subject to heightened scrutiny from the media, politicians, the airport community and the public. Therefore, a cornerstone of the Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project has been its proactive stakeholder engagement, which has helped navigate the complexities of this large-scale infrastructure project.

From the outset, PJIA’s project team mapped stakeholders carefully and designed specific outreach strategies to communicate with each stakeholder group throughout project implementation. The project’s effective stakeholder engagement techniques included (i) regular on-site tours of the construction areas for the airport community to see the project’s progress, (ii) user testing sessions with citizens, and (iii) weekly coordination meetings with the airport’s operations team to get buy-in, minimize disruptions due to ongoing works, and allow consistent project progress. Feedback from different stakeholder engagement channels was integrated into the design or construction processes, adding lasting value to the project.

The project introduced a useful distinction between hindrances (complaints which needed to be addressed immediately and can lead to a halt of pause ongoing reconstruction) and grievances (more medium-term complaints) as part of its project grievance mechanism.  Moreover, the project team effectively used hindrance notices to inform airport users of temporary inconveniences, such as noise, dust, or other impacts of reconstruction activities.

Another useful innovation was the launch of the "Restoring A Princess" video series, featuring a well-known local radio personality. The video series, which has released over 30 episodes on social media, distilled complex information on the reconstruction in a light and humorous way, making it easy for a wide audience to follow the project’s progress and accomplishments. The series allowed the PJIA project team to guide both the content and tone of information to the public and won special recognition via two NYX Awards and one Gold Viddy award.

This project offers lessons learned for similar large-scale infrastructure projects:

1.      Manage stakeholder expectations, especially regarding the realistic pace of project implementation.

2.      Allocate adequate and sufficient human and financial resources for stakeholder engagement.

3.      Foster the team’s awareness of the importance of stakeholder engagement and conduct a stakeholder analysis (as detailed as possible) to guide engagement strategies. 

You can find out more about the project’s stakeholder engagement strategies and how stakeholder suggestions were integrated into project design and implementation by downloading the case study report, Restoring A Princess: Stakeholder Engagement in the Sint Maarten Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project.