Government begins structured effort to address St. Maarten’s traffic challenges

GREAT BAY--The Government of St. Maarten began a structured effort to identify solutions to the country’s worsening traffic congestion when it issued a Request for Information, RFI, for mobility and traffic-management concepts on July 10, 2026. Companies, consortiums and other interested parties have until August 21, 2026, at 11:59pm Atlantic Standard Time to submit their concepts, after which government will conduct its review and presentation phase from August 31 through September 4, 2026.

The open market consultation is being conducted through the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, TEATT, and seeks innovative, scalable and practical concepts aimed at improving traffic flow along St. Maarten’s principal economic and transportation corridors.

The initiative recognizes that continued economic activity, increased development and rising vehicle density are placing greater pressure on the island’s road network. Traffic congestion is affecting economic productivity, the tourism and hospitality industries, businesses, residents and visitors, while also reducing the efficiency of the country’s public infrastructure.

The RFI is intended to help government identify the technological, operational, organizational and infrastructure solutions available before determining which approaches could be implemented and financially sustained.

Government is not prescribing one specific solution. Instead, respondents are being encouraged to consider a broad range of measures that could reduce congestion and improve mobility across the island.

Potential concepts may include intelligent traffic-monitoring systems, artificial intelligence-driven synchronization of traffic signals, smart parking and demand-management systems, improvements to public transportation, micro-mobility programs and public-private arrangements designed to ease congestion at critical intersections and other bottlenecks.

Proposed solutions must explain how they would operate, the infrastructure and technology required, the anticipated implementation period and whether the system could be expanded as St. Maarten’s mobility needs grow.

Respondents must also outline how their concepts could be financed. Solutions may require government capital and operational expenditure or may rely on self-financing structures such as user fees, commercial concessions or revenue-sharing arrangements between government and private-sector partners.

Government may invite one or more respondents to participate in follow-up discussions, demonstrations or technical workshops after reviewing the submissions. Any such engagement will remain non-binding and will not provide a respondent with an advantage in a future procurement process.

The RFI is not a public tender, Request for Proposals or formal procurement procedure. No budget has been allocated through the document, and no contract will be awarded directly from the consultation.

Information gathered will be used to guide national policy, establish technical baselines and determine whether viable concepts could advance through future government funding, a public-private partnership, a concession arrangement or another formal procurement structure.

Government will establish an internal evaluation committee to review the submissions. The committee will not select an immediate winning vendor, but will identify concepts that may be suitable for St. Maarten’s physical conditions and financial capabilities.

Any solution advancing beyond the consultation stage will remain subject to policy, budgetary, legal and administrative approval. A future procurement phase would be issued through an open public notice in keeping with transparency and public procurement requirements.

The initiative represents the beginning of government’s effort to move from identifying St. Maarten’s traffic challenges to examining practical and financially viable measures that could improve the daily movement of residents, workers, visitors, goods and services.

Interested parties must submit their completed responses electronically to Bids-TEATT@sintmaartengov.org using the subject line: “RFI Submission – Mobility & Traffic Management Solutions – [Company Name].”

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