Almost a decade after plans to redevelop Grand Cayman’s airport were first discussed, the ambitious project is still no closer to getting off the ground.
The hold-up is the cause of deep frustration for former Premier McKeeva Bush, who blamed excessive red tape for the fact that the project was not done already. Mr. Bush said making the much discussed plan a reality would be a top priority for the United Democratic Party if re-elected.
The latest scheme to run into turbulence was a $200 million proposal from a Canadian construction company to double the size of the airport building and expand the runway.
The British government ruled that the tendering process for the project did not fit with its strict new guidelines, designed to ensure taxpayers get the best deal on major infrastructure developments.
Now tourism minister Cline Glidden says it is back to square one.
The current plan is to go ahead with a new procurement process for a watered down version of the redevelopment, focusing on the terminal buildings and leaving the runway as it is for the time being.
Minister Glidden, speaking at a press briefing earlier this year, said the UK had provided an economic adviser to assist with the process and tendering would begin shortly.
The Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Canadian government-owned company, is considering its options and may be involved in the bidding process for the revised scheme.
A spokesman for the company told the Compass: “CCC accepts the decision of the government to alter the approach for the airport renewal project.
“CCC remains ready and willing to be involved, on the same terms as previously, if the Cayman government wants a rapid turn-key solution.”
Mr. Bush said it was imperative that the project progressed as quickly as possible. He accepted that the UK’s new processes would have to be followed but said he hoped the expansion plan would not be held up by bureaucracy any longer.
And he said the expansion of the runway should be included in the plan, arguing that it was crucial to attract long-haul flights from Europe and South America.
“That is something that should go hand in hand with the extension of the buildings. We’ve got to build for the future. We can’t do this half-hearted. This was all ready to go when the Governor stopped it because of FFR [Framework for Fiscal Responsibility],” he said.
The FFR is a signed agreement between the Cayman Islands and British governments that seeks to get the Islands’ finances back on track. It prohibits Cayman from long-term borrowing for public projects until June 2016 and imposes a strict set of regulations on how private partners are selected for such projects.
Mr. Bush said he accepted the terms of the agreement but was anxious for things to get moving.
“There was a good plan that was ready to move forward. If we have to go through a process, we have to go through a process. I don’t mind that, I just want it done quickly,” he said.
Mr. Bush, leader of the UDP, said one of the party’s top priorities was to get major tourism projects, including new four- and five-star hotels, a world-class golf course and the cruise port, moving.
He highlighted the airport expansion as particularly crucial.
“We have to move forward or we are going to get left behind. There is an urgent need for a new and expanded airport. We are currently unable to access markets from Europe, Latin America and Asia because we can’t accommodate direct flights from these places. We are back where we started on this because of red tape and agendas from those that rule us.
“Our tourism is doing well. The figures are the best they have been in 12 years, but our airport is one of the worst in the region. Rival countries have done better with facilities,” Mr. Bush said.
He cited airports in Nassau, Bahamas, Jamaica and Santa Domingo as examples of better facilities. “I think Cayman can hold its own but we have to push forward. There is some revamping necessary for our tourism product,” he said.
Whether an extended runway would attract more long-haul flights is debatable. Industry observers believe it is a “chicken and egg” situation. The demand is currently not there for direct flights, from the UK for example, but if there were direct flights, would there be more demand?
A cautionary note to those beating the drum for development was sounded by British Airways CEO Willie Walsh when he spoke to the Compass in 2010, when he said there were no plans to bring bigger planes to Cayman, regardless of runway length and argued that demand was adequately met by the 767 service via Nassau.
“We’re always pleased to see investment in airport infrastructure and clearly that gives us further options and would enable us to respond to market demand by [using] bigger aircraft – if the demand existed,” he said at the time.
He said the demand did not currently exist for that to happen in Cayman and cautioned against adding to the cost of visiting the island by increasing fees to pay for developments.
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