International engineering consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV will be developing the terms of reference for environmental impact assessments for the three airport projects announced in the Cayman Islands Airports Authority’s updated master plan.
The award of the contract, valued at $149,766, was confirmed on government’s public procurement portal Bonfire.
The firm has been hired for its professional environmental services to develop separate terms of reference for the runway extension at Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman, the runway strip widening at the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport in Cayman Brac, and the Edward Bodden Airfield relocation on Little Cayman.
Last year, government announced its plans for the airports at a press briefing and later released the master plan.
In that plan, the CIAA was projected to spend almost $491 million on Owen Roberts, $79 million on the Charles Kirkconnell, and $47.5 million on Edward Bodden.
The award of the contract for the environmental work now moves the projects a step farther along.
Plans for relocating the Little Cayman airport, however, have been drawing objections from the community there, with residents resisting proposals to move the airfield from its present location.
Sister Islands Tourism Association president Peter Quiliam has launched a petition seeking the governor’s intervention in the matter. By last week, that petition had 250 signatures.
Regarding the relocation of the Little Cayman airport, CIAA board chairman Johann Moxam referred the Cayman Compass to the Civil Aviation Authority and the Governor’s Office for comment, saying those entities were driving the process.
“Therefore, it would be inappropriate for CIAA and the Board of Directors to comment or engage at this point,” he said Tuesday.
Governor Jane Owen, who is charged with responsibility for aviation safety, has said that the Little Cayman airport “needs to have some serious upgrades in order for it to continue to operate in a safe and secure and proper way”.
With the Civil Aviation Authority’s ‘exemption to the aerodrome certification’ – which allows Cayman Airways to operate flights to and from Little Cayman – hanging in the balance, government has been hard-pressed to move the project forward.
The timeline for delivery of the terms of reference for the projects is yet to be confirmed. The Compass has requested comment on the schedule from the CIAA and is awaiting a response.
Royal HaskoningDHV previously worked in the Cayman Islands on the cruise berthing and port facility in 2016 before the project was ultimately abandoned by the then Progressives-led administration following public outcry.
Editor’s note: The story has been amended to refer to the Civil Aviation Authority’s ‘exemption to the aerodrome certification’ rather than ‘exemption of airworthiness’.
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