CIG targets cruise RFP before Nomination Day
(CNS): The premier has signalled the Cayman Islands Government’s intention to launch a request for proposals for contractors to build the controversial cruise berthing facility before the official start of the election campaign. Speaking Wednesday at the Chamber of Commerce annual Legislative Lunch event, Alden McLaughlin told the audience dominated by members of the business community that the polarizing project was progressing and the government was targeting March 2017 as the month that the tender process would begin.
The premier said that work was continuing and Baird, the consultancy firm that had undertaken the environmental impact assessment, had been working on the redesign. He said that the firm had provided a draft report of the alternative layouts for the cruise berthing facility that “repositions the piers into deeper water and reduces dredging and environmental impact” of the piers to accommodate four of the largest class of cruise vessels.
“The [tourism] ministry issued a request for proposals for firms to conduct civil engineering design works for the proposed cruise berthing facility. The tender was awarded to Royal Haskoning DHV,” he said. “The contractor prequalification process is projected for December this year or January next and the tender process for construction is projected for March 2017.” Next March is when the parliament will be dissolved and the official campaign for the General Election will begin.
The port is likely to be an election campaign issue but the two main political parties both support the concept of cruise berthing, even if they don’t necessarily agree on the location and the design. While there may be independent candidates who oppose the development, unless they are elected alongside another nine candidates that agree with them, Cayman could press on with a project that was rejected by the public 3 to 1 against in an official survey conducted on the topic in 2014.
Opposition to the project is largely based on the environmental damage, and even with the proposed changes to move the piers to deeper water, there are still significant risks posed to the marine environment at a time when local reefs are under enormous threat from climate change, over fishing and development. However, there is also concern about the costs and what is perceived as a lack of transparency from the government over the real costs and exactly how it will be financed.
Neither the premier nor the tourism minister have explained how this project will be financed, with anticipated costs varying widely from $200-300million.
Category: development, Local News
So, CNS. It seems like the RFP has been issued: http://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/cayman-islands-issues-cruise-ship-pier-rfp.html
Well, off we go to join the rest of the planet . We have been waiting over 30 years to build a dock. Why people are not happy is beyond common sense. We should be happy, yes very happy the amount of businesses and jobs will definitely be a no brainer. The dive companies will still have 150 dive sites all around the island. So they should be satisfied.
The sand will slowly go but it has been going for quite a long time. Did you not see what our beaches look like before tourism? Go to Facebook and look at some of the beaches pre tourism. People like Graham Rankin and Craig Merren can show you before and after pics. So the truth is beach is getting less all over the world.
Cayman is a world class tourism center and will take Miami/cubans to bring change to backward Cuba, sorry. They don’t have expertise or money. People in Cuba will not like the change thats coming they have “delusions of Grandeur”. Services is not up to par throughout Havana. The Spanish hotels are the best so far.
People in Cayman will have jobs to build the dock looks like about 3 years of work. A lot of subcontracting, engineers do engineering, truck driver, heavy equipment operators, steel ,cement a lot of jobs.
Tour bus drivers that work on the dock ARE the people who take people from the dock. Public bus drivers only take people from the library. But if you see only tourist they most likely got them from someone who maybe selling stingray city tours. Uber will not work on cruise ship tourism. Only hotels and drunk people from bars.
The docks will be financed by cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines.
There will alway be cost over runs ( materials being delayed, bad weather, labour issues ).
Gov’t doesn’t really get a lot of money from either hotel or cruise ship tourism as direct revenues. But the businesses pay licenses , they pay duties on equipment, boats, taxis and buses, stock for stores etc. 49 million was a small number but you have to add the duties which is quite high.
Infrastructure as in widening streets and producing new roadways like the East-West arteriel roads will open up new opportunities for Gov’t and the private sector. A lot of cheap land in between Bodden town and Frank sound. When they put the road thru there will be a lot of cheap commercial property. Remember that 7 mile beach is sold no more construction except Dart properties and he has his own construction company busy. He has his own transportation company, also less taxis and buses . So everything must continue to go East. Remember people didn’t want a port in the East. So the port which was done thru a consultant group back in the day of Mr. Linford Pierson control of the port . They said GT right where the Royal Watler pier is at today. FINALLY !!!!!!
We already know that Cuba will not phase Cayman Islands from doing tourism . Its not really an issue, but Mexico is the real competition. Its cheap cheaper for food and drinks. Why this has to be so high is beyond all the comments against the dock is concerned. Why aren’t the people who want such high end tourism not thinking? You keep bringing richer people as tourists WHO DOES IT BENEFIT???? All it does is bring in higher price restaurants. Have you seen the prices of food for the next major food event in Grand Cayman? Are you all sleeping it goes up more and more every year.
10:30, in summary of your post as you put it; “delusions of Grandeur”.
Has anybody in Government asked the cruise lines how opening up Cuba to U.S cruise ships will affect the amount of calls to Cayman?. This could have a major impact and render the berthing project a still birth or white whale depending on whether you are a landlubber or a sailor.
The truth about the port is that no one can truly assess the environmental damage impact that dredging will have on 7 Mile Beach. A review of sea current action and wind patterns over the past 20+ years indicate a strong probability that silt sediment (and there is no effective way to control 100 percent) will be swept towards 7 Mile Beach during the periods of dredging, which ostensibly will start and stop due to inclement weather.
CNS: The rest of this comment is posted here: Cruise dock: economic and environmental questions
You need the pier as a goat needs an accordion.
This countriy priorities are:
1. The Dump. The current plan to continue in GT is unacceptable. No toxic spewing incinerator recycling facility in GT .
2. Education
3. Public transportation. Just emulate what Bermuda has done. It will relieve the roads and promote walking.
4. Development, promotion and support of new self-sustained industries- organic farming; herbs&flowers distillation; manufacture of local products from local sources-coconut oils, essential oils, beauty products.
Anonymous 10:53, you have my nomination for “Comment of the Day”!!!
Kirkbots out in force last night. So obvious and pathetic. Most articles on public order offenses which deserve more attention do not get that level of comment or voting. This time note that the pro port votes are almost double the anti, and that happened overnight.
You need to get out of the bubble you live in and realise that those of us that want the port built are in the majority.
If you are so sure 2.02 a referendum will prove you right. Except that would not produce the result you say it will, hence the need to revert to Trump dirty tactics…the one thing I do know, you are failing to convince anyone.
You’re wrong, 4:38pm. He’s convinced a lot of us.
WTF has Trump got to do with this?
actually the people said what they want from the last election when most supported the PPM or the UDP as both planned cruise ports. now kids please stay off internet and their are more words than kirkbots.
wow…kirkbots are back ….
The absolute only thing that can show ppm as the progressives they say is to get this dock done. Stop wasting time listening to expat divers or worse yet, ones that don’t even live here and most that never even stepped foot in cayman.
They were more than happy to listen to them over the Smith Barcadere neighboring land.
The docks would be well into the conutrition stage by now had there not been a massive charade funded by the tenders that pretended to care about the environment just to protect their monopoly cash cow.
Conutrition? What’s that?
Mac supporters busy posting today. They don’t want the dock until they can do it themselves and reap the personal rewards.
We need jobs, please Mr. Premier get the dock built!
There are no construction workers (that are worthy of such a title) that are unemployed here, and such a project would need special marine engineers…so this is just another myth by the pro-porters to try and persuade the general public that this will create jobs..most worker will need to be imported for this project…..so 8.13, who paid you to write your comment?
reading CNS is like being stuck in a time loop. Progress on the dump soon, RFP for the port soon. Meanwhile outside of the CIG nothing has changed!
welcome to ppm land……
Wow such negativity and the decision to build has not been made yet. Dont you think we should get the facts before hand. The funny part is if the decision is not to build you will really hear some howling especially from the opposition.
if they hold the referendum and the vote is against the cruise port then this country is indeed full with fools. in the last election both the PPM and the UDP both supported a cruise port and we voted them in both on the PPM side and the UDP side. would we really vote for a candidate whose agenda is to build a cruise port when we dont want a cruise port?
Yes, you would. It’s all about money.
Alden are you that dumb that you can’t see that this project will cost your entire party the election and land us back in the hands of the dictator from West Bay.?
Yes, he really is that dumb as are all of these idiots jumping up and down like this project is our Islands savior. Its the exact opposite and it is going to cost these Islands, but the idiots spearheading this project don’t care because their own self-interests are at stake and they are already set for life.
The non-conflicted Tourism Minister must deliver the watch sales for his family before he loses his job.
I hope and pray that the dockage fees and other cruise related fees offset the loss of investment by home powers and other property owners as well as the diving trade that will most certainly be lost if the new pier causes extensive reef damage. I believe it will.
Turning Cayman into Disney Land is not the way to go. The jobs created will be low paying and the damage done to the island will be great. Instead of wrecking such a beautiful place, why not focus on job development that can be done without importation of raw materials or building ship berths. Why not make Cayman the technology center of the Carribean and let the drunken cruise ship passengers buy their T shirts elsewhere? The future is in technology. Making investments to prepare the young people for the world we live in will result in a society with good paying jobs instead of low paying retail jobs. Now is the time to make your choice and to let your thoughts be heard.
Cayman is already Disneyland… Mickey Mouse politicians and everything is f****ing Goofey!
3.03 You are despicable. You completely ignore the fact that Dart owns as many shops and certainly more tourist related businesses than the Kirk Freeport people. Perhaps you should publicly disclose who you are really working for then the people can decide if you come with clean hands I believe Capt Eldon and his family also have a right to know, and of course Mr Moses needs to know this.
Maybe you could too? Seems like you have an agenda
The PPM Government built a High School for over $100 million… they really expect me to believe they can accomplish a cruise berthing facility with $200 million? Oh boy, I cannot even ‘LOL’ to that!
MM Was it only the PPM or did UDP change plans ,contractors etc, running up the costs.
Funny how we don’t have a nickel for the comparatively minuscule health and welfare priorities that could help reduce criminal recidivism, mental issues, improve education and international competitiveness, dump, etc. Yet, this ego-driven gov’t seems to think that choking our streets with herds of busses benefiting a handful of mouths is worth saddling our community with debts that will take generations to clear – with no assurance the foot traffic will come, and assuming the lowest bid piers will withstand Mother Nature to the amortization date. A bunch of children running this place.
This valid true astute comment is worth repeating. I’ll do that here;
Funny how we don’t have a nickel for the comparatively minuscule health and welfare priorities that could help reduce criminal recidivism, mental issues, improve education and international competitiveness, dump, etc. Yet, this ego-driven gov’t seems to think that choking our streets with herds of busses benefiting a handful of mouths is worth saddling our community with debts that will take generations to clear – with no assurance the foot traffic will come, and assuming the lowest bid piers will withstand Mother Nature to the amortization date. A bunch of children running this place.
Revenue generating vs non-revenue generating…genius.
A parting gift for family and friends before they are voted out as Govt
I didn’t get that, could you say again?
News Flash: The current “bus” system is not a real bus system. It is a collection of private drivers that don’t run on any form of reliable schedule. Why not scrap this very unreliable system and either create a true government operated bus system with an actual schedule, or get Uber up and running. Uber is MUCH BETTER than the the clownish bus system today. I have nothing to do with Uber for the record. But I can say that their system is by far superior in service and accountability to the current bus system.
Is there any private sector business in the world that would advance to an RFP stage using shareholder capital without cash on hand (and already saddled with a min $20mln hole in Airport reno budget), the thinnest margin of available loan capacity, or at minimum, a credible and bankable third-party pre-feasibility study?
Your logic and pragmatism is wasted on this government after all this is Alden McLoghlin and the PPM you are referring to. They are experts of fiscal mismanagement and grandiose projects e.g. Clifton Hunter High School and the other derilict projects they started from the last time but never completed.
@n 12.53 Obviously you prefer McKeevas way of wasting money. What about the bullet bond for Boatswains Beach which will have to be as part of a $320 million one time payment in 2019. Thanks Big Mac. By the way surplus that PPM has accumulated is in an attempt to have the money to pay this off . Otherwise wuess what we will have to borrow money to pay it . Yet people like Big Mac, and others are saying that they should have spent the money and not set it aside for this bond (rainy day ).
That has been done. The RFP is an important project component but it is not a final decision. The RFP is needed to confirm the cost. At that point the funding, EIA and all other prerequisites will also have to be confirmed in order to arrive at a go / no go decision.
4 years later and still at rfp stage…..zzzzzzzzzzz
sums up the ‘progressives’ perfectly
10 06. You missed part where this is closest we have come in 20 years to finally having a proper and cost effective cruise ship dock. All done in accordance with best practise and in an open and transparent manner. Wake up.
Except
1) It won’t be cost effective
2) if it was being done properly when the consultants came back and said ‘this is the wrong thing to do and you can’t afford it’ they would have stopped.
2a) Consultant report said you’d be better off (more bang per buck) fixing GT tourism infrastructure before doing the port
2b) Before that the ‘business case’ said ‘if the cruise ships wont pay for it we can’t afford it’. The cruise ships aint paying for it.
get ur done stop wastin time and money on xpat whinin
10.06 zzzzzzzzzzzz just about says it all Rip Van Winkle; sleeping through the whole thing.
Will the Kirkbots be back? I got $10 says they will be out in force by lunchtime
KirkBots need government bailout!
Tender boat owners pretend to care about the marine environment. They want government protection after years of raping the country.
There you are 11.15! Welcome back…I would like to say I missed you but Mummy taught me not to lie.
1.34pm Briggs Puppet you are truly amazing; you want the right to free speech for your group who are opposed to the project, but want it denied to those who support the project. Wow.
Raping who? From where I’m sitting it looks like they have provided an essential and flawless service with an excellent track record for health and safety.
Right on 2.19, beat the kirkbots…with their Trump lies and tales of woe
“Tenderbot” exposes himself.
9.55am Will the Briggs Brigade stand down.
Alden this is political suicide good riddance
I thought history is supposed to be teach us valuable lessons. Has this government failed to heed the lessons from their previous tenure when PPM were in last in power 2005-09?
It looks like building more expensive monuments to political egos while continuing the policy of construction politics even if the country cannot afford it or has other more pressing priorities is what the Progressives do best unfortunately.
A few questions;
1. Where is the financing model?
2. Who is paying for this project and how?
3. Where is the transparency?
1. Not needed, see (2)
2. Dart, and none of your business
3. Not needed, see (2)
FATHER DART … DUH!!!
Just Another Day in Absurdistan
Another expensive white elephant project with a healthy dose of desperation and electioneering by the ppm.
“Now that’s progressive”
Waste of money and destructive to the environment. Just put more motors on the tenders get them tourists in quick. Cost less than $200 million I assure you.
This is the final nail in PPM’s coffin
Moses and Gerry will be dead and gone and they (future govts) will still be talking about docks.
11:29 and Cuba will have opened up long ago and the cruise ships won’t be bothering to stop off at this little backwater any more. We either put the money into the airport and encouraging European tour operators to invest in AI (all-inclusive) resorts now or simply forget about any sort of mass tourism in the future.
We’ve already killed any hope of becoming a credible ‘high-end’ destination by over-development and selling out to the cruise lines so the options are becoming very limited. On an island this size that equals commercial suicide. I’ve worked in two places that went down this kind of road and trust me it ain’t much fun for the people who have to live there.
5.20pm Two places eh, name them.