Port choice'couldn’t be worse'
Posted on Sun, 02/12/2012 - 14:22 in Politics
(CNS): The opposition leader has stated that if the government had deliberately searched the world over it could not have found a more inappropriate company to develop the cruise berthing facilities. Alden McLaughlin said it appeared that wherever China Harbour Engineering Company was working there seemed to be concerns of one kind or another. Despite his own belief that there is a pressing need for cruise berthing in the capital, he said that government really should reconsider this current proposal. Not only is CHEC the wrong company, the project has become much wider than had ever previously been intended and has turned into a financing deal that will in the long run be paid for by Cayman.
Given what he described as the “reputational issues” relating to the Beijing based firm, McLaughlin wondered what it was that had driven the government to select this company. "If the government had hunted every corner of the globe, I don't think they could have made a worse choice," he said.
The opposition leader also queried the decision of government to allow the project to double in size and cost because, he said, in the end Cayman would pay. “CHEC is not going to mind about the extras, as the more we add on the more we are going to pay," he said. “This is a major financing deal and every penny will have to be paid back by the Cayman Islands Government with interest,” McLaughlin warned, adding that it was no surprise that the Chinese developers were happy to increase the project size.
According to the planning agenda for 1 February, the upgrade to the Spotts Jetty will cost a further $3.2 million on top of the approximate $200 million the George Town facility is now expected to cost.
The planning department has confirmed that planning permission was granted to the Port Authority to develop an open-sided tourist facility, including restrooms, waiting area and an information booth at Spotts, which will still be needed to offer tendering to ships in bad weather and for when the four berths in George Town are already full. The coastal works licence to construct the jetty will need to be approved by Cabinet and at the time of the planning application this had not yet been submitted.
The government has also stated that it wishes to develop another pier in West Bay across from the Cayman Turtle Farm but a cost estimate for that project has not yet been revealed.
McLaughlin said the increase in the size of the George Town project plus the jetties at Spotts and West Bay were likely to offer a return to CHEC that the firm would not be able to get anywhere else, which was why it was more than happy to 'up the ante' on the overall size and scope of the deal, should government sign on the dotted line.
The need for cruise berthing in George Town was obvious, McLaughlin, stated but he had questions about these add-ons as well as the scale of the upland development that would accompany the berthing facilities in the capital.
The opposition leader also noted that the project, and in particular the government’s preferred partner on the deal, has never been through the central tendering process and that CHEC was not even on the original list of bids received by the Port Authority. He said there was a lack of transparency all along, and although there was provision for a sole contractor, there was a process for that which needed to be followed.
Defending the choice made by the PPM administration, of which he was a part, to sign an MOU with Atlantic Star, he pointed out that in that case the developer owned the land that would have been involved in the upland element of the development, making it a unique case. He said that had the issue progressed beyond talks, there was provision in the Public Management and Finance Law for government to apply to the Central Tenders Committee to consider awarding to a specific developer under such circumstances.
Looking to the future, the opposition leader pointed out how difficult it would be to unravel the deal down the line if the CIG commits to the growing project. As was clear from the premier’s rejection of GLF construction (government’s second choice to develop the facility), even before a heads of agreement was signed there were significant consequences, namely the approximately $3.5 million settlement reached with GLF after it was rejected by the premier on the eve of signing a full deal, which will, it seems, be paid for from the public purse, McLaughlin noted.
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Solomon and his cronies plan
Solomon and his cronies plan 100,000.00 Square Feet of shopping space at new Port, at the present total Square foot of Ground floor retail space in George Town is under 70,000 Square feet. Please note the amount of For Rent now in George Town. It is stupid to build more retail space in Cayman, period.
Do you wonder why we have a broken economy. Greed.
Where u get ya information
Where u get ya information from its not 100000 sg ft it's less rumermongerer
Greed,
Greed, shortsightedness, quick buck, instant gratitification, and lining of personal pockets, anything else except what is best for the country. That is our downfall.
Greed backed by stupidity.
Greed backed by stupidity.
Chinese and Russion
Chinese and Russion businesses are known to be the most corrupt in the world.
When they get it on with CI govt. perhaps there will be no corruption at all.
Given the many many total and
Given the many many total and partial failures of all the many different projects by both Caymanian run party's why in the world would you now expect that something, anything, would actually now get done? If you can't learn from your past mistakes (And there is no indication that this will happen anytime soon) then you will just keep repeating them. This will continue until there is no more money (to pay the bills not the king) and everyone is owed. One minus one really is zero. Unless of course you were taught differently. Then it looks like two but acts like minus two. Right?
Don't know who will agree but
Don't know who will agree but if we would have went with the original planner
Atlantic star four years ago this would not be an issue right now as it would
Have Been completed long time!! Just think those cruise liners wouldn be passing us everyday!
Pls CIG just get it started huh!! Even dart would have had it at least half done by now!
Alden for Minister of
Alden for Minister of Sanitary Services
I find it incredibly
I find it incredibly concerning that our Minister of Finance did not take the time to research the financing proposed by GLF. The very same type of financing has recently successfully financed major infrastructure projects for our competitors in the Bahamas($400 million airport redevelopment) and Trinidad($850 million Petrotrin). Citi won an award for the Bahamas project in 2009 and was #1 in project bonds globally in 2010. In other words, they know what they are doing and our Premier cost us the opportunity to establish a relationship with this institution that would have opened the door to a sound, legitimate source of infrastructure financing which would have exposed Cayman to many new investors.
The GLF financing plan also involved Preferrential Berthing Agreements(PBA's) with the cruise lines which would have guaranteed cruise traffic for many years to come.
CHEC says that they don't need PBA's, but in the same breath they say that they need 100,000+ sq ft of retail and 50 years because they are taking the risk that cruise lines may not want to come here!WTF!!!
Is it that he didn't take the
Is it that he didn't take the time to research? Or is it that, with his limited intelligence he did not understand what he was looking at?
Never trust a man who reads a
Never trust a man who reads a report upside down, and then declares an 18 million deficit to be an 81 million deficit. Or one who declares a surplus and then applies for an overdraft to cover it.
McKeeva is a very smart
McKeeva is a very smart man.
Question his motives, not his intelligence.
Or is
Or is it......well......something else.....huuummmmm
XXXXX Remember the very
XXXXX Remember the very suspicious trip to Italy before the decision to dump GLF? Did anyone believe it was so that our Premier with no engineering back ground could inspect a non-similar project?
PS: Always remember he has the support of his entire party in all of his dealings and therefore criticisms and praise (if any) belong equally to them.
Port choice count be worse or
Port choice count be worse or voters choice couldn't be worse?
Both.
Both.
More of the same...lots of
More of the same...lots of talk about new big projects...everybody complains about it...nothing happens...
Welcome to Cayman!
The title of the article
The title of the article should read: (Our) Government Choice: couldn't be worst, since it is THE worst.
I thought this project was
I thought this project was supposed to be paid for by the developer and they were to make their money back from the Port Fees and concessions, not actually costing Cayman any out of pocket expenses. I personally hate the idea of bringing CHEC in to do this thing. But I think Alden is playing scare tactic with all his accusations about Cayman paying for it. People raised holly hell about Dart doing this, but he would have probably had this thing darn near completed by now. People want to complain about the Dart folks and accuse him of being a ruthless businessman, but what has he done to negatively affect Cayman since he’s been here NOTHING, all I see is the beautiful developments he created that a lot of Caymanians enjoy, and as far as I know he’s the biggest employer of Caymanians on the island outside of the CIG, If was doing the port you could be sure that a lot of Caymanians would have gotten work that wouldn’t even have happened with GLF.
Well you convinced the CIG to kick Dart to the curb, now look what happened. You jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. CHEC is going to turn GeorgeTown into ChinaTown..
Very good points, but you are
Very good points,
but you are accepting instant gratification and ignoring the long time pain that will surely come. when 1 or 2 people controll your destiny dog eat your suppa assuming there are suppa to be had.
you supporters complain about high utility bills, what do you think will happen when a few people controll the majority of employment opportunities, they will set what you pay for everything, how much you earn, remember there will be very little compitation that can compete. $5.00 an hour with a % of the tips will not cut it
yes the majority of us enjoy going there, but can you afford purchase anything during visit.
when the majority can only look on and middle class dwindle watch out,TROUBLE TROUBLE,
IT'S already begun.
Lack of long term planning, immigration controlls and career guidance for students are killing us, now we have to suck up to anyone that have a wallet with money.
wa ya sy, think before u click LOL, & TD ya dont be selfish think country 1st. FIRST
It's better to be safe with a dolla than to have to hide behind a broken bottle fence when you have $5
So true. Camana Bay might be
So true. Camana Bay might be beautiful, but how many ordinary locals can afford to either live there, eat there or shop there? Even the damn movie tickets are too expensive, not to mention the cost of bottled water and popcorn ! What about the small merchants who have closed their shops because they can't compete with the resources of Dart? When 1 or 2 people control the majority of business and wealth and property on this island, good luck to you trying to negotiate a pay raise and better benefits. So you tell me who is really benefiting here. The Rich, who keep getting richer at everyone else's expense ! Not the ordinary Caymanian !
So the problem is Caymana bay
So the problem is Caymana bay or the ordinary Caymanian?
Alden Mclaughlin it totally
Alden Mclaughlin it totally correct, any of the other proposed deals would have been far better for Cayman & the Cayman people than the CHEC deal. It is my opinion that the CHEC deal is all about what is best for a particular individual than what is best for the future of these islands.
What ever happened to the
What ever happened to the originally planned deal with Atlantic star?
They seemed to have had it all planned out?
...sure they did...hahaha!
...sure they did...hahaha!
Said it before will say it
Said it before will say it again .. it doesn't matter who builds it and if they are any good or ripping Cayman off ..
Cayman is killing itself by building this port. Cruise shippers and Cruiselines won't have any easier time when here. A tender ride is just as long as a walk from the end of the port .. so no change in customer experience except they all get a free boat ride.
Extra shops on the dock .. well we have too many jewellery shops already .. let some build on the port and you put what we have out of business.
Lest not forget the reef and bars along the waterfront. How many restaurants have gone under with the current port. And the dock will be on top of all the reef where 100's of guests go every week if not day during high season.
You build this bigger cruise dock and you ruin the product that Cayman has to offer. You will loose more tourists than ever before .. and then you will loose all interest in the island and then where will Cayman be ?
When the weather turns bad
When the weather turns bad and the cruise ships go to Spots who is going to operate the tenders? The operators at present are not going to have a group of expats on work permits hanging around on pay for the odd day that the cruise ships need a tender at Spots!
Just realised now why we need
Just realised now why we need a permanent dock at the Turtle Farm – to keep the tenders in business. Silly me for missing that one!!!!
I believe the Opposition as a
I believe the Opposition as a whole have a lot of explaining to do. They have not been fit for purpose. Where have they been for the past months?
Of course the expanded project is misguided and the West Bay work is unnecessary. A simple finger pier off George Town and fixing up Spotts is all that is necessary.
Why does the Cayman government need to construct such grandoise projects.
The Chamber of Commerce need to start talking to the government about the bloated pier construction project and the unnecessary retail/casino space. It is wrong.
That said the Opposition is useless.
The Chamber of Commerce is
The Chamber of Commerce is also useless.
How did this issue become
How did this issue become about the Opposition? The Opposition is not in charge of running the country.
True, they are not running
True, they are not running the government. But they do have a job to do, beyond relaxing for 4 yrs and cashing their double dipping paychecks.
Their job is scrutinise the
Their job is scrutinise the government's actions and policies. They are doing that.
The role of the opposition is
The role of the opposition is to balance and temper the decisions made by the government in power.
In the last government the UDP warned Alden about the schools expense and the size of the debt unfortunately to no avail.
The role of the opposition is necessary and important and for the PPM to remain so quiet for so long hurts the process.
It will hurt everyone if this China Harbor deal is wrong for the country and if a bloated grandoise plan is made that turns out to be another Boatswain's Beach.
Pare down the plan to a pier only and fix up Spotts and draw a line there, this and crime should be the issues of the day not the road moving or the land fill.
Speaking about crime where is Alden on crime?
The Opposition cannot
The Opposition cannot "balance and temper" the decisions of the Govt. However unwise they may be the Govt. alone has the authority and responsibility to make decisions. Your focus should therefore be on the Govt.
The Opposition's job is to hold govt. policy up to scrutiny and hold the govt. accountable. There was no "process" as such. Clearly, if the CHEC deal was done secretly with the Chinese there was nothing the Opposition could do about it except complain after the event which they are doing.
"Where is Alden on crime?".
I strongly suspect he is against it. How about McKeeva?
Where is Alden??...where he
Where is Alden??...where he always is,....on the fence!!!
Alden, please stop playing
Alden, please stop playing politrics and listening to Ezzard too much.
Any company the size of CHEC will always have someone or some group upset with them. They aint no McAlpine or Arch & Godfrey now, you know. I can find similar info on the internet even about the UK and US governments. Poor angle of attach on this issue. Better try technical issues- more logical approach.
and let's not forget that the
and let's not forget that the cruise business is down worldwide ~
...and that travellers are
...and that travellers are avoiding itineraries that include Mexican ports
Mexican tourism is up
Mexican tourism is up
most businesses are down
most businesses are down worldwide. means nothing.
it doesn't mean nothing. It
it doesn't mean nothing. It means that economic factors in play around the world will affect Cayman and must be factored into any plans.
Maybe when the best you can
Maybe when the best you can do is the worst anyone would do its time let someone else do it?
Boring, boring, boring. The
Boring, boring, boring. The whole project, lets face it, is just not going to happen, no matter who is in charge.
You mean it's just another
You mean it's just another MOU MOU from father cow? Boy we certainly hope you're right.
That seems like Cayman's
That seems like Cayman's precident. We hire Dart, we hire the Chinese....do I need to say anymore?
I thought Bush said GLF wont
I thought Bush said GLF wont be paid off by the public purse?
Can't believe someone is
Can't believe someone is still listening to what Bush said.
Yeah! What do you call that
Yeah! What do you call that when the Premier says one thing but the exact opposite turns out to be true?
That is called "Reversed
That is called "Reversed Psychology"
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