Posted on June 7, 2016
By Reshma Ragoonath, The Cayman Reporter
Work on the cruise berthing facility is forging ahead as Government is expected to appoint a civil engineering firm by mid-month to produce the new design and a costing for the contentious cruise berthing facility.
Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Hon Moses Kirkconnell made the announcement while speaking during the budget debate on Government’s $862.4million fiscal package in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (1 June).
Mr Kirkconnell told legislators, in his presentation, that “conceptually the reworked designs indicate that it is possible to have less dredging and to move the piers into deeper waters.”
Armed with this information, the Minister said, Government, led by the Public Works department carried out a prequalification tender to hire civil engineering group to look at what the new design would entail and what the cost of the new design would be.
“This resulted in four companies becoming prequalified and the RFP (Request For Proposal) for the civil engineering design work was subsequently issued in May and is expected to be back and the design group appointed in the middle of June,” Mr Kirkconnell said.
He stressed that through the process Government has been working to gather all the relevant information to make an informed decision on the project.
Last year Government ordered a redesign of the initial plan submitted by Baird & Associates with a view to having the piers move into deeper waters to minimise the environmental damage from the project. The initial design contained a pier depth of 50-55ft. However, under the new design a depth of 85-90ft was being considered.
Mr Kirkconnell contended that government looked at moving the piers into deeper waters, turning the piers different degrees and minimising the dredging as options to reduce the environmental impact of the project.
“Throughout this entire process Government’s overarching objective has been to arrive at an outcome that will deliver the maximum economic benefit to the people of the Cayman Islands with the least environmental impact to the George Town Harbour, consequently government agreed to rework the designs for the piers,” he told legislators.
He said the Ministry of Tourism has been in discussions with the cruise industry partners to arrive at a funding model that will deliver the best funding model for the country.
“The ministry will report to the FCO (Foreign Commonwealth Office) and Cabinet once this model has been achieved,” he added.
Minister Kirkconnell assured that the decision for the cruise berthing and port facility will be made through best practices.
“The cruise berthing facility will put us on a level playing field with our competitors to the south, to the north, to the west and to the east and we will be considered when the routes are being decided in the boardrooms of the cruise operators,” he added.
Debate on the project continues to rage in Cayman with pro-port and anti-port groups weighing in on the issue once again in the last two weeks.
Two weeks ago Keith Sahm of the anti-port lobbying group Save Cayman, in an interview with The Cayman Reporter, said he believes some international environmental treaty or organisation will foil the Cayman Islands government’s plans to build the long discussed and controversial cruise berthing facility in the George Town Harbour.
Mr Sahm contended that “others will make the decision for the government”. He has urged the Cayman Islands not to make the same mistake as Miami, Florida did with its port.
However pro-port group Cayman’s Port Cayman’s Future contested comments made against the current port proposal by the Save Cayman founder, implying they are misleading.
Chris Kirkconnell, who is part of the pro-port group, said Mr Sahm failed to include that the Miami Deep Dredge Project encompassed 2.5 miles of dredging which cost $205 million and took almost two years to complete.
Minister Kirkconnell as well as the Ministry of Tourism have both declined to comment on the public debate between the two groups.
Source: The Cayman Reporter
