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(CNS): The chief officer in the ministry of tourism told the Public Accounts Committee Thursday that KPMG is guiding government through the procurement process of the cruise ship dock after Cabinet recently gave the green light to press ahead with the controversial development. Stran Bodden told PAC that the overall project was being coordinated and led by the steering committee made up of a cross-section of government agencies. But CNS has learned from two reliable sources that the committee has not met since 1 August last year, despite the significant developments since then.
Bodden also revealed that the various entities that will be invited to tender in the final part of the procurement process, which must now follow legislation that came into effect on 1 May, will be following a set design. The revised plans are said to push the piers further into the ocean, which was an effort to try to minimise dredging. But Bodden said the plans fix the length and breadth of the piers as well as the pilings in accordance with the cruise ships’ requirements, though the winning bidder will have the discretion on how best to lay them out.
Bodden was unable to answer questions about the new dangers that pushing the piers further out will pose to Seven Mile Beach and said that whoever wins the bid will be responsible for just updating the original environmental impact assessment but will not necessarily be required to look at the impact on the world famous beach once the final plan is settled and the tender awarded.
The entire project remains opaque, with major decisions apparently being made behind closed doors with limited input from a handful of key public sector managers and politicians. Claims by Bodden that it is being managed by the steering committee seem at odds with reality, given that it is now more than nine months since the members of that committee met.
This means that the pre-qualification process, which was followed by an invitation to submit solutions and then a decision to narrow down the field to just three finalists, have all happened in the absence of direction from the steering committee.
Despite government claims to the contrary, the cost of the project is now estimated to be in excess of $250 million and exactly how it will be funded remains a well-guarded secret. KPMG, which is now said to be assisting government with the entire tender documentation, was originally contracted to help find a financing solution, but it is still not clear what that is and whether they were able to work out how the government can, as it has stated on numerous occasions, avoid the liability for the costly proposal.
How the construction of the pier plus the twin project of renovating and expanding the existing cargo section will be managed while still hosting cruise ships has not been revealed and government has been almost silent about its effort to relocate coral. Nor have officials revealed the plans to protect the marine environment during the construction period and what, if any, contingency plans exist if evidence emerges that Seven Mile Beach, as many local experts believe, will be impacted.
The project is becoming increasingly less popular as time goes by, as evidenced by the growth in opposition comment across all local social media platforms, particularly on the extensive public input from readers on CNS. The recent revelations about the significant management problems and what may also be a police investigation into the financial irregularities exposed by the auditor general at the port may further fuel the opposition to the project.
From the beginning, the public consultation survey in which around 500 people took part, came down three to one against. Since then, support seems to have fallen even further and appears to be confined to a small group of downtown merchants and some, but by no means all, tour operators.
Public concerns about the impact on Cayman’s infrastructure has become a particular issue in light of the number of people needed to justify and cover the costs of the project if it is to be paid for via passenger fees.
There has been a surge in cruise numbers over the last few months after Cayman was added to schedules because of the loss of some ports of call due to last year’s hurricanes, which has given the public a glimpse into the potential impact a long-term surge in cruise passengers could have on local beaches and attractions.
The opposition recently revealed plans for a campaign for a people-initiated referendum on the project before a contract is awarded. The opposition leader is also planning to press government into debating the issues in the Legislative Assembly when it meets next month. |
