Caymans - Massive cruise ship and cargo facility proposed

Ally · 05-05-2008, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Preliminary documents are likely to be signed within two weeks, triggering the start of a massive $200 million cargo-port development on George Town’s North Church Street, replacing the Port Authority premises.

Initial construction is expected to begin by the end of this year and will involve creation of multiple cargo berths and unloading facilities on an artificial peninsula reclaimed from the sea at the intersection of North Church Street and Bodden Road. Minister of Tourism Hon Charles Clifford has confirmed that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been drafted for the project.

The project, tentatively priced at more than $200 million, is likely to be a public-private partnership with property developer Atlantic Star Ltd. Constructed on a “build-operate-transfer” basis, the new facilities will also involve creating two long-awaited $80 million passenger berths at the Royal Watler Terminal, where Atlantic Star is likely to gain almost 100,000 square feet for development of retail operations such as a hotel, shops and restaurants.

The cargo-port development, on 9.5 acres of land already aggregated by reclusive property and construction magnate and Atlantic Star chief Fayed al-Rasheed - better known locally as “Fahad”, and described as a “Saudi Arabian-American-Caymanian” - will comprise short-term storage and marshalling facilities, and an internal road network on the inland side of North Church Street adjacent to the Atlantic Star headquarters.

Repeated attempts to contact Mr al-Rasheed by telephone and email over several weeks proved fruitless.

The project will also involve wholesale reconfiguration of area streets, entailing either construction of an alternate road system or the expansion of Bodden Road, Eastern Avenue, Godfrey Nixon Way, the Butterfield Roundabout and Industrial Park thoroughfares to accommodate traffic between the new port and long-term cargo storage opposite North Sound Way’s Alissta Towers.

“We have drafted a memorandum of understanding and we hope to sign within two weeks,” said Mr Clifford. “The memorandum will trigger detailed negotiations and an environmental-impact assessment.

”The financial modelling has not [been determined] yet,’ he said, but would broadly require Atlantic Star to fund and manage most of the project, minimising public outlays.

“Building the facilities will be strictly private - they would put out the tenders, and that $200 million is likely to be divided, and most likely funded by the private sector,” Mr Clifford said, describing Atlantic Star’s role.

Government, however, “is not going to relinquish control of such key infrastructure. We will remain in control, but, of course, the developer wants a return on his investment, and so we may take a different approach.”

Clifford said that, depending on how the project is executed, initial cruise terminal operations could begin in as little as 18 months.

“From our point of view, we have two options,” he said. “We could build the cargo and then do the cruise facilities, but we want to be ready for the new Genesis class [of cruise ships], which will not tender.

“So we need the facilities [quickly]. We may build one pier, for two ships, to Genesis-class specifications, then build out the cargo completely, then come back and finish the cruise berthing.”
Genesis is the project name for the latest and largest generation of cruise ships, built by major shipping lines at a cost of US$1.5 billion per vessel, and carrying 6,000 passengers. Scheduled for launch in 18 months, the ships are too big for ship-to-shore passenger tenders, which can accommodate only between 250 people and 300 people per trip.

Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines carry 75% of the Cayman Islands nearly 2 million cruise visitors per year. Last year, both had agreed to fund construction of two piers at the Royal Watler Terminal, with the proviso that government would, in the medium term, move George Town’s cargo docks to another location.

“They saw the value in separating the cruise and cargo, but didn’t want to pay for the new cargo port,” the Minister said. As negotiations froze, “this other person came along”, he said, declining to identify Mr al-Rasheed prior to the MOU, “and said he’d like to develop a pier on our existing site and another one on his North Church Street property.”

The two ultimately agreed to create a North Church Street cargo terminal and four berths at two piers at the Royal Watler site.

The arrangement, Mr Clifford said, would boost “cruise operations and the embarkation and disembarkation experience”, while enabling improvement of the downtown area, boosting business at local shops and restaurants, and clearing industrial traffic from the area.

The cruise lines, Mr Clifford said, “are still involved with this, support it and are keen to be involved with the design and possibly even investment”.

The Minister said the project had been kept under wraps while he negotiated the MOU, but that it would go to Cabinet in approximately two weeks, and then to public discussion in another three weeks to four weeks.

“There will be opposition, yes, “ Mr Clifford said, “but Government cannot serve just a single interest. It must weigh all the stakeholders’ interests and then must decide in the best interests of the country.”

Massive cruise ship and cargo facility proposed