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Black Immigrant Daily News
Kenneth Bryan, Minister of Tourism and Transport, announced on Monday, February 13 that the Cabinet accepted the Strategic Outline Case (SOC) regarding the expansion of the Cayman Islands cargo port. He also confirmed the Cabinet’s approval to develop an Outline Business Case (OBC) for the project.
Concerning the SOC and OBC, Minister Bryan said the two comprehensive documents serve different purposes and are required under the procurement law. They also assist the Government in making informed decisions regarding the feasibility and affordability of each scenario.
Distinguishing the two documents, Minister Bryan explained that “The Strategic Outline Case establishes the options for Government’s consideration while the Outline Business Case is completed by financial experts and takes things a step further by examining each of the options in more detail, including their costs.”
As to the reason for the study at this time is that, according to Minister Bryan, the Cargo Port’s capacity is currently stretched, and within 10 years, we will also be nearing capacity with respect to the cargo vessels that presently call in George Town Harbour. Further, the existing vessels are approaching their natural lifespan and will transition to larger ships requiring larger cranes to offload them.
It was also noted that the larger ships also require a deeper draft.
Regarding this, Minister Bryan explained:
When fully loaded their draft will exceed the depth of the water at the port, and the ships will be unable to fully berth at the pier.
Taken together, this means that the current port will be unable to handle the level of cargo required to support our growing economy and population. (The existing cargo port facility serves as the main port of entry for approximately 95% of all imports to the Cayman Islands. During the daytime, the facility accommodates cruise operations and transitions to cargo port operations between 6:00 pm and 5:00 am.)
The report provides several options for Government’s consideration, ranging from expanding the existing port facility or establishing a port at an alternative location.
Concerning the next steps, the Port Authority anticipates the recruitment of a Project Manager to oversee the business case process, which independent financial experts will carry out.
Once the project manager is recruited, the next steps in the process will be for the Request for Proposals to be issued, seeking the financial consultants to draft the Outline Business Case. As is customary, the Strategic Outline Case will be included when the project goes out to tender. In addition, once the consultants have been identified to draft the Outline business case, a public consultation process will also take place at that time.
Minister Bryan concluded.
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