A contract was signed today (Tuesday, 24 January 2017) with a specialist legal team to take forward the plans for the proposed Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS).

The contract is with law firms Maples and Calder from Grand Cayman and Burges Salmon from the United Kingdom.

Based on a report by environmental consultancy firm Amec Foster Wheeler and financial analysis by consultancy firm KPMG, Cayman Islands Government plans to create a public-private partnership for a new state-of-the-art solid waste management system. This will include the remediation of the current landfills, with recycling, composting and a waste-to-energy approach at the heart of operations.

The newly appointed team of lawyers will advise government on all legal aspects of delivering the ISWMS project and ensure that a legal and regulatory framework is provided to facilitate investment and reduce transaction costs.

The procurement of the ISWMS is moving forward based on the project being executed on a “design, build, finance, operate and maintain” basis. As such, government went through a pre-qualification process last autumn to shortlist companies that could construct and operate the new waste management system for a 25-year period.

Bidders which were selected have now been asked to outline their ISWMS proposals by early February, and a preferred bidder is expected to be announced by the end of April 2017.

“We said from the outset of being elected to office that we would do everything in our power to resolve the issue of the landfill and the need for a modern solid waste management system,” said Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin. “We have taken time to ensure we identified the best possible solution and follow all the regulatory guidelines. Therefore, I am very pleased that we have signed this contract with the legal firms today and are at the final stages of putting our plans into place.

“The country needs a waste management system that will protect our environment, our health and our economy for generations to come, and I am confident that our plans will deliver all of these aspects.”

Ministerial Councillor for Health Roy McTaggart also welcomed the legal firms being brought on board.

“I am very pleased that we have reached these final stages in resolving the issue of waste management in the Cayman Islands,” he said. “Now that we have our specialist legal team in place, we will be in a position to appoint the contract to a company qualified to provide our new solid waste management system. This will be of benefit to everybody in the Cayman Islands.”

Photo caption (Photo by Catherine MacGillivray, GIS)

L-r front: Abraham Thoppil and Paul Lumsden from Maples and Calder, Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn, Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin, Councillor Roy McTaggart. L-r back: Sophia Scott from Maples and Calder and ISWMS Senior Project Manager Jim Schubert.