Bush plans ‘stimulus’ for building industry

Premier McKeeva Bush has outlined a
stimulus package for Cayman’s struggling construction industry, with discounts
in work permit fees and import duties.

Among the proposed measures are
temporary modifications to development fees, import duty discounts and rebates
and discounts on work permit fees.

“The government recognises that the
local design and construction industry has been hard hit with the current
global recession… [and] it is important for the government to jump-start
development in the construction industry in the short term,” Mr. Bush said
during a debate on a private member’s motion by Ezzard Miller, independent
member for North Side.

Mr. Miller is requesting that
developers who get import duty waivers must agree to purchase materials from
local vendors. The debate on this was due to continue Monday.

Mr. Bush said the government would
discuss the incentive programme with the National Investment Council and local
suppliers.

Under the proposed incentives,
planning fees will remain due on application, but half of building control fees
will be due on submission and the remaining half upon completion of projects
that require planning permission by February 2011.

Import duty discounts would be
offered for immediate projects, for projects that receive planning permission
by February 2011, and projects buying locally purchased materials up to July
2011. Local suppliers who sell materials to builders and developers would offer
discounts and then claim a duty rebate from government or apply for an import
duty discount, Mr. Bush said.

Work permits for new senior and
professional management staff applied for between January and June 2011 would
be offered at a discounted amount. Mr. Bush did not say how much the work
permit fee discount would be, but said “hopefully, it will be a good enough
discount to encourage them on approval of their second year work permit”.

He said there would also be a
one-time rebate upon issuance of a second year’s permit and that existing
senior managers who have been in Cayman for two years or more will receive a
discount on the grant of their next permit. Senior existing architects, engineers
and surveyors would receive discounts on work permit renewals until June 2011,
while new permits for those professionals granted between January and June 2011
would be discounted.

The current work permit fee for
surveyors, engineers and architects is $9,000 per year.

The announcement of the plan to
introduce work permit fee discounts for the construction industry came a day
after the government rejected a motion by opposition MLA Alden McLaughlin to
roll back work permit fee hikes that were introduced in January.

“We recognise there has to be a
stimulus, there has to be a jump start for the construction [industry], that’s
where the vast majority of unemployment is right now,” Mr. Bush said.

He said that the hiring of new
construction workers would have an impact on the entire community, as those
staff would spend money in local economy.

The premier said he would press the
United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office to convince it that measures
had to be taken to help the construction industry. “They are wary, they don’t
want to see us get into another $81 million deficit… they want to see us continue
on the track we are on,” Mr. Bush said, adding that an analysis of government
revenue would determine future measures could be taken.