George Town, Cayman Islands (17 January, 2020) The Ministry of District Administration, Tourism and Transport is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Kearney Gomez as Chairman of the Board of the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands (PACI), for a period of four years, commencing 2 January, 2020.

Mr. Gomez is a retired civil servant whose career began in the early 1970’s during the advent of the Regional Cadastral Survey & Registration Project and the establishment of the Lands and Survey Department.

In 1980 Mr. Gomez moved into the Portfolio of Agriculture, Lands and Natural Resources where he served as an Assistant Principal Secretary and shortly thereafter was appointed to the post of Principal Secretary.

He was also appointed as Supervisor of Elections at that time and remained in those positions until his retirement from the civil service in 2013.

During Mr. Gomez’s long career he was instrumental in the creation of several Government Agencies as well as the establishment of Marine Parks. Notable amongst these is the Water Authority, Department of Environment, Lands and Survey, 911 Emergency Communications, Street Naming and Property Numbering, the Elections Office and the National Weather Service.

Mr. Gomez also played a significant role in the introduction of a considerable number of infrastructural projects during his tenure. These include the creation of the Port Container Terminal, the new Government Administration Building, the Mail Sorting Facilities at Owen Roberts Airport, new facilities for the Mosquito Research and Control Unit and most of the district jetties and launching ramps.

Commenting on the appointment, Hon. Moses Kirkconnell, Minister of Tourism and Transport said, “I welcome the appointment of Mr. Kearney Gomez as the new Chairman of the PACI Board of Directors. Having served for over four decades in government service, his experience and knowledge will bring invaluable insight and leadership to our Port operations and its future strategic direction. Mr. Gomez has chaired many Board meetings of both the Port Authority and the Water Authority in the past and is ideally suited to serve as Chairman on an ongoing basis.”

“I am honoured to have the opportunity to continue progressing the important work of the Port Authority,” said Mr Gomez. “Optimizing the efficiency of our country’s trade, freight and supply chain is particularly important, especially as we are seeing rapid growth in freight and population. Having dedicated much of my life and career to the growth and development of the Cayman Islands, I look forward to working with the board, staff and Port partners to deliver safe, efficient and customer focussed operations while contributing to the economic development of our Islands.”