Up Front
Revised Plan for Port
The Minster of Tourism, Environmentand Transport, the Hon. McKeeva Bush, revealed in a statementread in the Legislative Assembly last Friday, 30 March that thePort Authority has produced a revised plan for the George TownPort development and a conceptual plan as well for the SpottsDock.
The Minister explained during his addressthat he had extensive discussions with the Port Authority andGeorge Town businessmen, with whom he held a meeting to completethe review of the Development of the downtown George Town Portfacility.
The specific instructions with respect tothe Port were to reduce the size of the cargo terminal, enhanceand expand the cruise ship tenders and pleasure boat facilities,reduce the cost of the project and to try to maximize the environmentalimpact of the George Town Habour.
In light of this development, he said thatthere will be no dredging undertaken in front of Hog Sty Bay.Additionally, the relocation of the cargo handling facilitiesto the north of the existing site will significantly increaseberthing space. Enhancement of the cruise ship tendering and groundtransportation facilities on the existing cargo handling siteare also considered as part of the overall plan.
In his presentation to the Legislature,Mr. Bush confirmed that shortly after being assigned the responsibilityfor the Port Authority following the General Election in lastNovember, he had requested that the Authority carry out a reviewof the George Town Port Development Plan as well as for the developmentof the Spotts cruise ship facilities. This location is presentlyused when inclement weather prevents the landing of passengersin the George Town Harbour.
The Minster went on to say that the March14 meeting this year at the Hard Rock Café, was well attendedby merchants and other interested parties representing the downtownbusiness sector. He expressed delight that the revised plan presentedreceived "wholehearted support from the audience."
Following the meeting with the downtownbusiness sector, the Port Authority held a meeting on the 23 Marchand formally approved the revised plan, which is referred to asOption C.
In a related development, Mr. Bush said:"I have had extensive discussions with the Florida CaribbeanCruise Association (FCCA) with respect to the development of ourPort facilities and they support the revised George Town DevelopmentPlan. The FCCA has committed to make financial contributions toboth the George Town and Spotts development projects.
"The FCCA was also advised that it(Government) intends to upgrade the facilities at the West BayDistrict Public Dock to cruise ship specifications and they haveagreed to make a financial contribution to this project, onceit is approved and costed. They have further offered to providetechnical advice with respect to the Spotts development at nocost to Government," he confirmed.
Mr. Errol Bush, Port Director, also confirmedthat the George Town Port Development Plan had been in the worksfor sometime, and in this light, the Balboa dive site would haveto be moved. He said: "At the moment, there is no divingat the Balboa dive site during the daytime as there is too muchcongestion in the George Town Harbour area. The Watersports Associationhas been quite cooperative in this regard and they have offeredto give us assistance in the moving of the site at a later date."
Mr. Ken Thompson one of the owners of theHard Rock Café told Cayman Net News that he thought theplans were great: "Everyone pretty much felt that we didnot need to increase the amount of ships, but to increase Portfacilities efficiency to make it work better for the tourists."
"One of the things we are happy isthat this revised plan will create additional parking facilitiesfor the taxi and tour operators. It will alleviate the trafficcongestion. This means, that they will be right on site to collectthe people as they disembark, and I believe that this will allowfor a more orderly operation," Mr. Thompson added.