Trust suggests expand GT dock, limit population

(CNS): The National Trust for the Cayman Islands (NTCI) is urging the government to think about limiting population growth rather than building a cargo port to accommodate the projected figure of 250,000 people living here by 2084, pointing out that this number would totally overwhelm the Caymanian people, who even now make up less than half the current population.

The consultants hired to draft the outline business case for the project insist that the Cayman Islands Government needs to start planning now for a new cargo dock in one of the various locations proposed, and that the CIG should expand the existing dock in the George Town Harbour and the Cargo Distribution Centre.

In presentations made to the public, they said this would allow Cayman to manage the population growth for the next 15 years, which they estimate will be 133,000 people by that time. Upgrading the GT dock would take about five years, the consultants said, and this will support the islands until 2039, by which time the new dock will be built. What would happen to the old dock after that is unclear.

However, in its submission to the consultants drafting the OBC, the Trust suggested that, instead of upgrading the existing dock just enough to manage a population of 133,000, the CIG should look at how to maximise its utility so that it can handle a population of 150,000 and take steps to limit the population to that figure.

“The current business case includes two options for the George Town port: ‘do nothing’ and ‘do minimum’. The NTCI feels that a ‘do maximum’ option should be included which improves the current site so that it could support a more realistic population level capped at 150,000,” the Trust said in a release.

“George Town has been the site of Cayman’s port for hundreds of years due to its favourable conditions; it sits in the lee nearly every day of the year, deep water comes close to shore, and after all this time as the port, its proximity to population and man-modified status make it an appealing location to remain as the port into the future.”

The Trust pointed out that a population of 250,000 would include over 150,000 non-Caymanians at the current birth rate, which is “not only unsustainable but undesirable and cannot be supported by the country’s infrastructure or by Caymanians who would become even more significantly outnumbered under these projections”.

Instead of planning for a population of 250,000, the non-profit organisation recommended that the OBC include multiple population scenarios “for a more informed decision-making process as part of an overall plan for the future of the Cayman Islands”.

“The recent population growth has strained the natural environment and necessitated major infrastructure projects driven by a desire for economic growth,” said Frank Roulstone, executive director of the National Trust. “As Cayman’s population growth is due to immigration rather than birth rates, it is within our government’s power to control the growth rate.”

The Trust also noted its concerns about relocating the cargo port to a new location, particularly the options at Breakers quarries, and highlighted the environmental damage to both terrestrial and marine life and surrounding ecosystems. It also raised concerns about traffic and the additional burden on infrastructure in the Eastern Districts and the viability of a port with a north-south channel, given the prevailing wind patterns to function safely throughout the year.

In its submissions, the Trust noted that building the dock at the Breakers quarries would cut off the existing coastal road to Frank Sound and East End. “Since one of the much-touted goals of the East-West Arterial Extension is to ensure that there are two routes to East End, this would seem to eliminate that added security as it was explained that a bridge over the canal is infeasible. This further demonstrates the problem that we face in Cayman, whereby different agencies and ministries plan projects without taking into account other planned projects in other remits.”

“We would like Government to take a cautious, data-driven approach to the port expansion and advocate for full transparency, including an Environmental Impact Assessment before any construction begins,” said NTCI Chairperson Melanie Carmichael.

“We also strongly believe that the population scenarios considered for the port should be applied across all government projects, including development planning, waste management and transport so that there is more correlation between these large capital projects which will have an enormous environmental, social and economic impact on all three islands,” she added.

See the NTCI’s full submission in the CNS Library.