Cayman Islands Back to Square One with Ports

It’s back to the drawing board for the Cayman Islands government to find ways to redevelop the cruise ship port and Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman.

At a media briefing following Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, tourism minister Cline Glidden said the new interim five-member government is working closely with the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office to ensure that new tendering processes for both projects would meet good practice procurement standards.

“It has been made very clear to us by the UK government that the procurement processes that were being proposed and attempted both for the airport and cruise port did not fall in line with what we refer to as good practice and neither one of those proposals will be supported or allowed to move forward,” Mr. Glidden said.

The expansion and improvement of the international airport in Grand Cayman was “critically important” to address overcrowding issues at the terminal during busy periods, the minister told reporters.

He added that while, for the most part, funds for the project – generated by fees specifically relating to the airport expansion – were in place, the government and the Cayman Islands Airports Authority had to show the UK government that the proper procurement practice would be in place before any work could go ahead.

“We’re happy to say that we have, with the assistance of the economic adviser provided by the United Kingdom ... a process that allows us to present a business case and to present the architectural plans that will allow the procurement process to proceed in a manner that will be acceptable by the UK government in terms of good practice,” Mr. Glidden said.

During the media briefing, Mr. Glidden also revealed that Cayman Airways wants to buy two aircraft that the airline leases. Those leases cost $6.3 million per year and are due to expire this year and in 2014.

The minister said that the leasing company had provided an “attractive” purchase price and the proposal had been presented to Cayman Islands Governor Duncan Taylor and the British government.

Going back to scratch in terms of tendering for the redevelopment of Owen Roberts International Airport effectively ends an August 2011 agreement between the Cayman Islands Airports Authority and the Canadian Commercial Corporation to partner to redevelop the Owen Roberts International Airport and Cayman Brac’s Charles Kirkconnell International Airport (formerly known as Gerrard-Smith International Airport).