Bryan: Cargo facility nearing ‘end of its functional lifespan’

Public consultations on the planned expansion of the George Town cargo port are set to commence on Wednesday as government seeks input on the next stage of development of the facility.

Tourism and Ports Minister Kenneth Bryan, in announcing plans on Friday, 26 July, for the development of the cargo port, said the existing facility on the waterfront is “approaching the end of its functional lifespan”.

He said the current infrastructure “is unable to support” the projected increase in cargo volumes required to sustain the Island’s growing population over the next decade.

“It is inevitable that a long-term solution is necessary, and consequently, the relocation of the cargo operation to a new dedicated facility outside of the centre of George Town has become a strategic imperative,” Bryan told legislators in Parliament as he announced the start of public consultations.

The minister pointed to the “surging” volume of cargo coming into the island and the limited space available at the existing facility as evidence of the need to expand.

This year, from January to March, he said, there was an increase of 3.8% in cargo tonnage, totalling 177,523 tonnes.

The project’s documents were first released February 2023, but little progress has been made to take it forward.

This week the Ports Ministry re-posted the 2022 Cargo Port Development Project strategic outline case ahead of the consultation.

It estimated that the total project at the harbour facility would cost from $25 million to $30 million “once pilings, steel concrete, labour and other materials are factored in”.

It also outlined another $35 million for land, as well as a new warehouse and mechanic shop and removal of the old structures at the Cargo Distribution Centre.

That cost, however, is expected to change given the time that has lapsed since the document was released.

A business case also listed five possible sites for the facility; however, it deemed the quarries at Breakers the most favourable options, which would be the least damaging to the marine environment.

The four other options outlined in the document are Red Bay/South Sound, North Sound, East End Sound, and Frank Sound, but it noted that each of those would involve extensive dredging and affect the marine environment.

‘Fancier, larger’ cruise ships

Though the document does not address the cruise situation, Bryan raised the fact that calls continue to decline in the absence of a solution that would accommodate the arrival of larger ships.

Speaking to this situation, the minister said conservative estimates state that within three to five years the ships that are currently calling on the Cayman Islands will no longer be sailing in the Caribbean, and will be replaced by “newer, fancier, larger vessels”.

“If the Cayman Islands want to continue and want to be included as a cruise destination into the future, again the question of cruise berthing must be definitively addressed. There is simply no other option,” he said.

When the former Progressives-led administration sought to build a cruise berthing facility, it faced widespread opposition in the community and was later abandoned.

Bryan has been advocating for a referendum to be triggered to have the public vote on the future of cruise tourism and determine whether building cruise piers would be supported.

There has been no official word on whether a referendum will be held on this issue.

Two public consultation meetings on the cargo project will be held – on Wednesday, 31 July starting at 6:30pm at The Vault, at the Compass Centre on Shedden Road in George Town, and on Thursday, 1 Aug. at 6:30pm at Church of God Chapel, on Shamrock Road in Bodden Town.

An online survey is also being conducted until Friday, 2 Aug. to get the public’s input on the project.