The Alexander Hotel management is proposing to build a multimillion-dollar marina in Cayman Brac.

Grand Cayman Architect Burns Connolly who is acting for the owners of the hotel has submitted the plans for the first phase. They include excavating part of a saltwater pond and cutting a channel (approx. 200ft) through the reef, across a lagoon plus an existing road in order to allow boats to access the marina.

The seabed will have to be dredged to create a 12-foot-deep channel extending 800 feet from the inland pond to the reef line.

The major hurdle for the developers is the reef is inside a marine park!

Although the pond was declassified as an animal sanctuary by legislators in 2012 it is never-the-less the habitat of West Indian whistling ducks.

The recent amendments to the new National Conservation Law that have been approved by the Members of the Legislative Assembly could mean the approval of the development being dealt with by the National Conservation Council.

This, however, depends on whether the law is enacted and the council is in place quickly.

The Developers have said the proposed marina will provide the first safe harbor on Cayman Brac.