Government has started shopping around for a new asphalt plant and a new fleet for Cayman Brac Public Works as part of planned upgrades and replacement of existing equipment on the bigger of the two Sister Islands.
The upgrades form the basis of three public procurement tenders on government’s Bonfire portal, and include invitations for quotes for heavy equipment and fleet enhancement, a rock crusher and associated equipment, and a new asphalt plant.
Exceeded ‘useful life’
The tender falls under Cayman Brac East MP and Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly’s Ministry of District Administration and Lands.
The ministry, responding to Cayman Compass queries on the tender, said many of the current pieces of equipment “have reached or exceeded their useful life”.
“Procurement of new equipment will include increased efficiency and operational capacity of the PWD section,” it said.
The ministry added that in an effort to ensure value for money, government is exploring the acquisition of a rock crusher “in order to manage the development of large parcels of Crown land as well as the development of roads”.
When it comes to the new asphalt plant, it said, the existing facility has surpassed its useful life.
“[It] has now become costly to operate due to ongoing repairs and maintenance needs. The new plant will improve the quality of roads in Cayman Brac by not only being more modern technology but by also having a lab which will ensure the quality of asphalt being paved,” it said.
The business cases for these projects commenced in 2023 and completed in early 2024, it said, but those have not been made public.
It said the business cases “are not typically released until contracts are awarded with the preferred bidder due to commercial sensitivities – once in contract the business cases will be published in full”.
What the tender seeks
Through the tender, listed as Capital Asset Procurement, the intention is to procure equipment needed for the Brac Public Works Department to generate “its own aggregate to control quality and cost of aggregate”.
The procurement of a new asphalt plant for Cayman Brac, it said, is “to improve reliability and [consistency] of Hot Mixed Asphalt on Cayman Brac for road and runway construction, while upgrading the existing plant and relocating it to Little Cayman”.
The final tender is for the annual modernisation of the existing vehicle and equipment fleet, while adding some new specialised equipment, it added.
The tender also includes procurement of equipment for an asphalt testing lab, an asphalt testing technician and trainer.
“The asphalt testing technician would be for three months during some critically sensitive work and training someone to remain at the lab to carry out the role full time,” the ministry said in response to bidders’ queries on this specific aspect of the tender.
The tender closes on 24 April and has an anticipated execution of agreement date of 12 May.
The deliverables, it said, must be completed within six months of the contract.
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