Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (30 May, 2019) Final bids from the companies vying to construct the cruise berthing piers and expanded cargo facility are due to be submitted to Government tomorrow, Friday 31st May, 2019, marking the successful completion of another significant milestone in the project’s procurement process.

Upon receipt, the bids will be evaluated and a report outlining the preferred bidder will be generated. Once this process has been completed, the company assessed as having won the bid will be publically announced.

“It is very exciting that the procurement process has reached its conclusion, because this means the public will soon be able to see the winning design and more information regarding the cost and exact positioning of the piers will be available and shared,” said Hon. Moses Kirkconnell, Minister for Tourism. “I have repeatedly advised that it was necessary to arrive at this final stage in the process in order to have final designs in hand, and having reached this point I look forward to publically unveiling the plans as soon as the successful bidder has been identified.”
a Pre-qualification Stage which invited

Speaking specifically about the project’s six year timeline, Minister Kirkconnell recounted that the information and data gathering aspects of the cruise berthing project started in 2013 and was followed by the procurement process which has been ongoing since 2017. That process commenced with interested parties to demonstrate their ability to design, build, finance, and maintain the proposed berthing facility.

Once bidders were pre-qualified, the procurement process entered the second phase, which sought more detailed information from pre-qualified bidders regarding their ability to deliver on the technical specifications of the project. This was the Invitation to Submit Outline Solution or ISOS phase of the procurement process.

The third and final phase in the lengthy and complex procurement process kicked off in November 2018, with the Request For Proposals (RFP) issued by the Cayman Islands Government inviting bidders to submit final proposals for the development of a two- finger pier cruise berthing facility and enhanced cargo port facility under a design, build, finance and maintain (DBFM) framework.

“Internationally, DBFM has proven to be the best structure for this type of project and is by far the best financing model for our country because it means that no public funding will be required to build the cruise piers and enhanced cargo facility. As the Premier and I have both previously stated a number of times, this project will be financed from funding which cruise lines have committed to provide and from the remaining balance provided by the winning bidder. These will be repaid from passenger fees which would otherwise have been used for ferrying passengers to and from the cruise ships and not from the public purse,” the Minister said.

To date, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Corporation, Disney Cruise Line and MSC Cruises have all signed formal funding agreements.

“The financial commitments provide the assurance that cruise lines will continue bringing passengers to our shores for the next 25 years and are a strong endorsement for the future of the Cayman Islands cruise industry,” the Minister continued. “Their long term commitment to the Cayman Islands will help to create more jobs and commercial opportunities particularly for small businesses and will inject millions of dollars into our economy.”

To stay informed on all of the latest news and information on the cruise berthing project the public is encouraged to visit the cruise berthing facility website at http://www.SupportOurTourism.com and to check the project’s facebook page for daily updates.