Cayman Islands Premier Hon. McKeeva Bush announced in the legislative Assembly on Wednesday (7) that government was now preparing to engage in an open and competitive tender after the abandonment of the talks with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).

He said that the project manager, Alastair Patterson, KPMG and lawyers, Maples and Calder were now working on the tender documents for competitive bids and these would be completed as soon as possible.

The premier said he would not be involved in this part but his major concern was to ensure value for money and still hoped to get the project started that should create the 100s of jobs it would have done had he been allowed to carry on with his negotiations with CHEC.

A spokesperson from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said Mark Simmonds MP, the UK’s overseas territories minister welcomed the premier’s statement, “with regard to the proper procurement and competitive tendering of the cruise ship port development, as well as his commitment to implement the FFR, as signed, into Cayman Islands Law.”

We have learnt that even though the Port Authority had requested “expressions of interest” no formal documents had ever been prepared. This seems to be extraordinary.

All this comes after the premier’s announcement on CITN television on Tuesday (6) evening that he would completely adhere to the UK’s concerns regarding the port project and abandon the talks with CHEC in favour of an open competitive process, as well as implement the Fiscal Framework for Responsibility without any amendment clauses.

However, it would appear CHEC will be expecting some form of redress for the time and monies they have spent on the port project especially in developing a detailed design for marine and other upgrade works at Spotts Dock. They are also concerned that the “Cayman Islands Government will take all such steps as may be required to prevent the use of the considerable amount of proprietary and commercial data CHEC produced by any person, entity or official without CHEC’s consent.”