Article by Norman Klein and Simon Raftopoulos, Appleby

The Cayman Islands Government has recently approved the Outline Business Case (OBC) for a new two finger pier berthing facility to accommodate cruise ships in George Town. Appleby have been engaged by Government to provide legal consultancy services with respect to the project. This is an encouraging step following the failure of successive administrations to get the project to the construction phase.

Government has indicated that there are two important criteria for this project – no commercial development on the dock and existing Government revenue cannot be used to fund the plan. Having been engaged months ago to provide financial & technical consultancy with respect to the project, PricewaterhouseCoopers produced the OBC which contemplates the project being done through a public-private partnership (PPP).  This would require private interests to finance, develop and possibly operate the new cruise berthing facilities and require the creation of new revenue sources to repay investors. If successful, this would be the first PPP capital project in Cayman’s history.

This is also the first major capital project since the enactment of the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR) was made law under revisions to the Public Management and Finance Law a year ago. The OBC was released last week and the public consultation process required as part of the FFR has also commenced.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

See also iNews Cayman story published October 18 2013 “Cruise berthing’s legal contract signed” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/cruise-berthings-legal-contract-signed/

PHOTO: Bina Mani – Handshake: Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Hon. Moses Kirkconnell (left) and Appleby Partner Norman Klein cement, with a handshake, Appleby’s provision of legal oversight for Government’s cruise berthing project. Chief Officer Stran Bodden (centre) signed the contract on behalf of CIG.