Cayman Islands' Cabinet has approved the Outline Business Case (OBC) for a Cruise Berthing Facility and the document has been released for public engagement. This paves the way for the procurement process and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to begin.

The Ministry will now hold a public meeting on 5 November to review the Outline Business Case, inform the public of the overall status of the project, and confirm the proposed procurement process which will ensue.

The process began in April 2013, with the development by Government of the Strategic Outline Case (SOC). The Government set out eight options for consideration which varied from a 'do nothing' option through to a two pier solution (accommodating four ships) with a relocated cargo dock.

The Cabinet policy in the SOC confirmed two important criteria:

• there would be no new commercial development on the dock, and
• that existing government revenue could not be used to fund the development.

After careful assessment of all the listed options, PwC - Government's financial consultants for the cruise berthing project - reduced the eight options to a 'preferred solution,' which comprised the construction of two piers, with consideration for relocating the cargo dock in the future but not as part of the current project. Once this had been determined, PwC confirmed that it is feasible for the cruise berthing facility to be designed, constructed and financed through a Public Private Partnership (PPP).

After the public engagement has concluded, the next step will entail development of a Request for Qualification (RFQ) to invite proponents to confirm that they have the capacity to design, build, and finance and deliver cruise passenger volumes.

Under a Public Private Partnership arrangement, the private partner would pay for all works and would recoup their investment from the berthing fees. Under such an arrangement, the Port Authority would retain day-to-day operational responsibility for the piers but the private partner, particularly if it were a cruise line or consortium, would control who used the berths and when. Government would assume ownership of the piers at the end of the specified term.

See OBC: http://www.gov.ky/portal/page?_pageid=3981,7646571&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL