Mac signs MOU with Chinese
(CNS): The country’s premier has revealed that he has signed a ministerial Memorandum of Understanding with the Bejing based developer, China Harbour Engineering Company, to build the George Town Cruise port. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, McKeeva Bush said the new government partners would also be renovating the Spotts jetty and developing a cruise ship pier at the Cayman Turtle Farm in West Bay. He further stated that as well as developing the George Town cruise facilities, CHEC will be involved in the future operation of that port.
Despite having rejected the last planned project by GLF because he said he did not believe the developer had the financing and would not be able to act quick enough, he revealed Wednesday that government did not expect to have a signed a contract with the new developers until November. Although he did not give a date for when the project might start, given the time frame for the contract preparations it is unlikely that the George Town project will now break ground before the beginning of 2012.
“Our joint objective, together with the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands, is to work towards signing a contract before the end of November this year,” Bush stated. “China Harbour Engineering Co. will provide the financing and technical designs for these projects. They will work closely with the government and the Port Authority on appropriate developmentplans for the reclaimed upland area in George Town.”
He said the construction projects will provide local employment and stimulate local business and that there would be chance local investors to buy into the George Town Port enhancement project. Bush said progress had already been made on the plans for the renovation of the Spotts area, which he said meant that the project could be underway as early as July. “A local firm, Office for Architecture and Design (OA&D), has already been retained as project managers for the Spotts Jetty rehabilitation and upgrading works,” he revealed.
After making the announcement to his parliamentary colleagues, he confirmed that after making a significant investment the developers would be involved in the management and operation of the facility. Bush said that after the completion of the projects the details of CHEC would be worked out. He also stated that the Central Tenders Committee would be examining the deal, but hedid not go into details over how the firm was selected. Bush confirmed that CHEC is a state owned company and not a group of private Chinese entrepreneurs. It is also understood that the company did not submit a bid during the original tendering process.
When the CTC originally announced the results of the review of the cruise port bids, DECCO had the most successful bid and was the first company to begin negotiations with government. Following the collapse of talks between DECCO (Dart’s construction firm) government moved to the second placed bidder, GLF/Royal construction, but talks with GLF were terminated by the premier in April, when the developer was potentially a mere six weeks away from mobilization. The premier did not say why the government had not gone to third place bidder or when it began talking with CHEC about the possibility of it being the developer of the cruise facilities.
The premier denied knowing anything about the issues CHEC were facing in Jamaica in connection with an investigation by the auditor general into a road project in that country.
Category: Tourism
This is a sad day for Cayman
The Chinese to build the port
The Dr Shetty the Indian to build the Health City
I just hope we will accommodate the Jews to develope more businesses here then we will be right on target. These are the groups of developers that are very lacking in our society and have been for years. Now the Cayman Islands will see real prosperity.
Was wondering with all that has come to pass over the past few days what type of dock His Knibbs is proposing for the turtle farm area?It says a cruise ship dock so either (A)a ship will be able to dock there or (B)It will be built to take the tenders from the ship or.(C) will a ship(s) be anchoring in this area and then tendering ashore?
Me thinks that there will be some sort of high speed hydro foil or something similar that (Someone)will have an investment in.Hmmm wonder who that could be or they could be?Just thinking out loud.Any thoughts out there from anyone else?Time will tell as is the case these days.I wonder what s next??????
Am just gonna say this. Why is it that you all Caymanians are afraid to print your names, who are you afraid of. As I have read you all say you LOVE this country. So instead of going on and on, start proving that you do. Do something about what is happening instead all I can hear is TALK and NO ACTION. Caymanians wanted MIAMI now that you have it you want to go back to 50 years ago. And another thing the white people didn't steal anyone's land Caymanians sold their land, get real here now. I will end with this Cayman will get no better for Caymanians until Caymanians come together and unite and stick together for the good of their own country. So if all the majority of you Caymanians can do is talk but no action then SHAME on you. I say that a Caymanian is a Caymanian's worse enemy and I can sure say that has been proven time and time again.
CNS: Can you register if you use your real name please, Chet. We've had issues with people using other people's names. The links are below the comment box or on the LHS column. Thanks.
OMG!! More mix up mix p coming! When is the Premier going to stop the madness. Well his followers are NOT saying a word but thank God 2013 is on the horizon.
I wonder what the FCO would say ….
So the recent trip to Jamaica has produced this travesty. Neither CHC nor Dart were in the original bid process. Holy Caped Crusader!! What will be found to have been negotiated in private during all the other travels?
Alden may well need to re-think the rollover at this time. Otherwise there’ll be all kinds of durn foreigers coming in on these projects and staying. Perhaps labourers should be the only restricted work permits. Come for the job and leave when it’s done – no exceptions.
Those who speak about CIG’s or more precisely, the Premier’s diversionary tactics certainly have that issue pegged as valid!
tie up your dogs!!!!
That's the Koreans not the Chinese, silly.
Our genius leader has even sold us out to the Chinese once a sell out always a sell out. He is very consistent. I’m going to be consistent this next election as well. "Mac will stab you in the back" will be my campaign slogan.
I hope Cayman's peaceful and serene environment does not get destroyed with all these dvelopments. I have never been a fan of larger countries and if I should get the opportunity to return, I would love to see the Cayman Islands I fell in love with, the only place I would live outside of Jamaica.
Jobs for Caymanians? Then why not go with the Caymanian firm?
我聞一踢回
Take a good look ,folks. I would start learning to read and write Chinese if I were you. Gonna be seeing a lot of that soon!
Oh thank you so much for bringing this company here now as I was just about to spend some money learning Spanish so I couldunderstand the majority of people here but I now have time to change to learning Chinese to be able to understand the future majority of people.
"The premier denied knowing anything about the issues CHEC were facing in Jamaica in connection with an investigation by the auditor general into a road project in that country."
Well, McKeeva flipping-well should have known if he'd done his due diligence properly.
I wonder if China's record on human rights was considered before signing up to work CHEH. XXXXX
Why is Mac signing an MOU with the Chinese? Couldn't he save some paper and give them the same one that GLF has? Afterall, signed agreements don't mean anything to Macdinejad.
Get ready Cayman!
We are soon to witness the battle between Dart and the Chinese to see who can own more of Cayman.
We as Caymanians we be the losers and the only winners will be UDP members!
China, USA, UK, EU, NATO, Russia, Israel.
What do all of these have in common?
They are ALL immoral and reprehensible beasts.
China (along with Russia) is naturally poised to become the next global powerhouse – and that is the "fault" of none other than the West itself via its short-sighted policies.
(The simple fact it that the West is now sucking on the teat of the East (China, Russia, India, the continent of Africa). Had the situation been reversed hardly a Westerner would give too hoots about the "undeveloped" East.)
Of course we will witness another major (the greatest yet) world war before China and / or Russia takes the throne but it is inevitable.
Whether or not Cayman contracts with the Chinese to build a few ports will do little to impact on what is to come.
In any event, I am concerned about the level of economic benefit that we will directly receive from these proposals for when the Chinese come, they normally pack everything – including the kitchen sink.
"Of course we will witness another major (the greatest yet) world war before China and / or Russia takes the throne but it is inevitable."
You should sell your prognistications instead of posting them for free here. Who wouldn't pay good money to someone who could read the future? Can I get a try?
So, do I get rolled over or not? I could use some certainty on that questions, since I'd prefer to buy a house if I'm going to end up staying.
Funny guy.
Ever heard of some little thing known as "history"?
Magic ball says: "You have as much a chance of being rolled over out of the Cayman Islands as any immigrant does of being kicked out of the UK, USA, EU or Canada."
Fair enough?
Exactly who do you like?
Its not about like or dislike in this world.
I am but one person.
One can only try to call things the way they are and hope for the best.
Who I, or anyone else for that matter, personally "like" will not affect a damn thing in this regard.
* However, I am quite fond of an individual that goes by the name "Whodatis".
:o)
You are a complete idiot. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are the biggest growing economies currently. Cayman economy is slumping. You should be accepting all the help you can get.
??
I think you may have misuderstood my post because to a degree you and I are on the same page my friend.
That being said it is important to bear in mind that a strong economy is one thing – but a strong (and globally spreading) military is another!
E.g. The continent of Africa is naturally the richest region of the world. However, due to outward inteference, manipulation, inward infighting, and corruption it has not yet realized the full potential for its inhabitants. Until the day it organizes itself and forms a well equipped and capable military (as if that will ever be allowed to happen!), it will continue to be treated like the world's needed but unwanted step-child.
The only thing that is saving / has spared the "East" (Russia / China) from Western imperialism is a strong, powerful and dedicated military.
Pay no attention to the rose colored, cotton candy daily rhetoric of CNN and BBC – at the end of the day "might" controls the world.
Always has, always will.
Someone needs ask about any new immigration policy/rules/laws that have been negotiated as part of this MOU…seriously. Marl Road tells me something is up – currently each immigration application is considered on an individual basis (person by person) but I hear that for the Chinese, they are all welcome, open borders.
Oh, you are all going to love the Chinese. They speak in a completely alien tounge and they no dot pray to a Christian God. On the plus side, the quality of Chinese take-out food will surley improve soon!
This announced MOU/agreement so far is just not sounding right to me.
It seems from what information i've read/heard that we would be better off with GLF/Royal (and fully owning and operating our own ports) or re-evalating the other bids.
Surely to now ignore the bids we already have….and cherry pick the chinese (or any others) cannot be right….ethical….even legal?
Ooh another MOU – Cayman must be the only country in the world that signs up and bangs on about them so frequently yet more often than not nothing ever comes of them…..like a soccer players contract they aint worth the paper they are written on. Has the Shetty Hospital moved on yet? ..no thought not!
Anyway, one has to wonder if there are 'benefits' now due from the Chinese – takeaway brown paper bags anyone ??
We could have the Chinese build for us an underwater' Great Wall of China to replace the loss marine life.
Since Dart & Government are now in the business of swapping land let me suggest another land swap.
Give Dart 10A43REM2 (67 Acres of Crown Land)
In exchange Dart (Registered as Crymble Landholdings Ltd.) can give the people of the Cayman Islands the following adjacent parcels.
10A54 (25 Acres)
10A55 (15 Acres)
10A57 (26 Acres)
That's 66 Acres in total of Dart Land.
Maybe Dart can subdivide another adjancent parcel so that the people of Cayman get the last 1 acre they deserve but I think we should even settle for the 66 acres just to keep things clean and avoid subdivions which would require planning permssions.
Dart/Crymble can use 10A43REM2 as a part of their Salt Creek development.
Dart, please go ahead and make some more beautiful canal homes down their in Salt Creek. You have a canal already dug that can serve this purpose.
Now this is what I would like for the the FORCAYMAN Alliance to accomplish withthe land exchange.
Use the 66 acres (A54,55,57) to create another botanical park with ocean frontage on that cliff looking toward Rum Point with areas for recreation, hiking and picnics etc.
We need a botanic park on the western end of the island and what more beautiful a place to put it.
And now that Dart is constructing a road to connect the Esterly Tibbets Bypass with Batanbano Road in West Bay they can easily create another road that would lead to the New Botanic Park.
I feel this venture will also enhance the Salt Creek product. I know I would like to live in a fancy neighbourhood with a beautiful oceanside park with hiking trails etc.
More impotantly this would enhance the Cayman product.
Since we are forming an Alliance for the next 30 years lets make Cayman as beautiful as possible.
So many seem to openly oppose our UK alliances, yet would freely gift-wrap our Port management to Communist China's leadership?!? If this procedes, this would mean the corrupt and morally bankrupt Chinese Gov't would be running things. For starters, that means that the vast majority of the port workforce will be imported Chinese not Caymanians, from the menial labouror all the way up (refer to BahaMar project where 1000 to 2000 were expected by PM and 9000 showed up), and they will stay on.
Rest assured it would also mean that once Mac was handled, they would begin to bully and abrogate contracts, unilaterally changing the terms of the deal whenever they want. This is happening on Chinese controlled projects worldwide. Chinese operators do not constrain their actions to western morality or law. In time, we will grow to regret our alliance as their control of the port will effectively put a strangehold on our sovereign development, and they will become the defacto duty collectors, since their gov't will wind up controlling the port(s)!
Perhaps worst of all, we will accidentally accomodate the ambitious geopolitical expansion strategy of the Chinese Navy in the Caribbean. Do a Google and educate yourselves on which nation has the greatest naval ambitions in the world. Then ask yourself why they so are so hell-bent on port development partnerships in Pacific and Atlantic? Ask: what is their strategic purpose? Are we to believe that the Communist Chinese leadership are just a bunch of generous benefactors that are hankering to get into the global cruise ship business? Probably not.
We need to stop now before we become a disposable pawn in the great geopolitical chess game that is unfolding. We need to be on the right side for the right reasons. For ourselves and for our heirs. It's not about money for them – and that should alarm us.
What I want to see is how them WB gangbangers compare to the triads.
soon come
Turn-key project. Cayman funds going back to China. Get your brooms out, guys, you'll probably be able to sweep up the cement dust while all the major construction jobs come from and go back to de big land in de east.
There are no words to discribe this man…well there are but……..this Port will never hapen because I see a very large Law suit going to happen over this…..
Everyone knows that the Chinese are the largest gamblers in the world….wait and see Mac will legalise gambling in his next stupid move……
don't hold your breath……as shown before these mou's mean very little…..
after two years we are back to square one…..zzzzzzzz
you are kidding … this won't help anything …
it won't bring in more cruise ships.
it will take away 2 vital areas to watersports tourism.
it will give lots of work and money to people who don't live in Cayman.
it will ruin this country.
this is just the worst possible thing.
Well done Mr. Premier we will get the big cruise ships now more passenger adds up to more spending which equals to more money and more jobs. This is a win, win situation for the Cayman Islands, thank you Mr. Premier you are doing the right thing. You are a good leader bless your heart.
Chinese management = Chinese running things = assertion of Chinese sovereign marine rights = Adios US Coast Guard; hello Chinese Navy! Imagine how much reef they'll need to dredge for their newly refurbished Russian carrier fleet, and how little they will care?
Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Poster 07:35-Support of the Premier.
You have in the past posted this same accolade on many other projects touted by the Premier. How many of these have come to fruition?
Let me see..er…hmmm…none? Well done Mr Premier.
If this was a united effort between UDP and PPM for country's benefit, I guarantee you the Chinese would had been the first option. Dart and GLF are small compared to the Chinese.
How can this contract bring work for locals? Anything done by the Chinese they bring their own workers from China and this can be proved by all their projects in this region i.e. Jamaica.
This is a bad idea. The Chinese are all about themselves.
"The Chinese are all about themselves"
I thought that was the Americans.
You may find yourself praying for Americans if you let communist China run things. Within 20 years the cruise ships will be long gone and Cayman will be a sovereign Chinese naval base. Those of us that were lucky enough to escape early will look back in horror at how blind we were.
And the English, and the Jamaicans, and the Fillipinos, and the Hondurans, any nationality in the world except CAYMANIANS.
That is not true. many locals were given work in Jamaica on the roads especially women were seen to be working on these projects in Jamaica. Also there appeared to be full compliance with the workers wearing and using full safety equipment ie. hard hats, shoes and reflective vests.
THE INTEGRITY TEST
This test has only one question, but it's a very important one. Please don't answer it without giving it some serious thought. By giving an honest answer you will be able to test where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation, where you will have to make a decision one way or the other. Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous.
You're in the Cayman Islands … near George Town, to be exact. There is great chaos going on around you, caused by an unpredicted hurricane and severe floods. There are huge masses of water all about you.
You are a Daily News photographer and you are in the middle of this great disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot very impressive photos.
There are houses and people floating around you, disappearing into the sea. Nature is showing all its destructive power and is ripping everything away with it.
Suddenly you see a man in the water – he is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken away by the masses of water and mud. You move closer.
Somehow the man looks familiar. Suddenly you know who it is…….it's Mckeeva!
At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him away, forever. You have two options and no time to lose. You can save him or you can take the best photo of your life. You can't do both.
So you can save the life of Mckeeva….or you can shoot a prize winning photo, a unique photo displaying the death of one of the world's most notorious leaders.
And here's the question (please give an honest answer):
Would you select colour film, or rather go with the simplicity of classic black and white?
"one of the world's most notorious leaders"
Only to anyone who's actually been to or lived in Cayman, most people have never heard of him.
He's well known after all them world tours he been on.
I pray they will teach Mac something about that admirable quality.
Apart from port building, the third leg of Cayman's new economy is going to be companies suing Government for breach of contract/process. Everyone who put in a bid to CTC should lodge a complaint for abuse of process for the awarding of an MOU without going through the legal process, i.e., CTC. (DECCO probably doesn't need the extra headache, but GLF could probably get a court room dedicated to them in short order.)
DECCO do not need to sue, they just called for a Government/Private Party partnership and get their duty waivers, land swap deals, etc,etc without having to incur any lawyer fees- this is how shrewed businessmen operate.
Time will tell whether all this maneuvering was good for the Cayman Islands (in which case there should be a statue of McKeeva Bush in Heroes Square) or if it was a complete disaster (in which case McKeeva Bush will be remembered as the Devil himself).
Whatever happens, you have to give Mr Bush credit – there certainly is no "middle ground" with that man.
Where can we get some tar and feathers?
I only know where you can get free gas
Can someone enlighten me how this man is fulfilling his elected duty to serve the people. We have a referendum on the constitution, which is a major change, but we dont on other major changes?
Interesting and reasonable proposals thus far.
Of course all is not perfect and ideal but change is the name of the game.
So long as East End and the rest of that area remains "as is", and no dredging takes place in the North Sound then I am basically good-to-go as they say.
As much as possible, let us keep our "development" centralized and focused on the already impacted upon areas of the island(s) – that, in my humble opinon, should be the basic philosophy in regards to the future of the country.
All I'll say is that I hope the Chinese are better at building ports than they are at making disposable lighters, toys, household items and all the other third rate junk we are cursed with nowadays. Might not be quite so bad if it was cheap crap, sadly it's just plain old crap. I'm sure Mt. Trashmore would be smaller if we didn't import so much garbage from China.
They should really put a little "Red Guarantee" on all their shoddy goods – "guaranteed to fail, break, disintegrate, fall apart or never function as intended within the time it takes to a) leave the store or b) one calendar month after being ripped off whichever is sooner".
Seems to me when I visited the website for China Harbour Engineering Company (http://www.chec.bj.cn/) thatthey are certainly qualified to undertake this project. As a matter of fact, this project is small compared to many of the projects that they have already completed and are currently working on. Seems like a good choice to me.
Chinese construction methods are not known for their sensitivity towards the environment.
So many people complain bitterly about the environmentaldamage that might be caused by the East End Seaport project but I suspect we are going to see some serious problems emerging from these three large projects.
O+AD were and are still overwhelmed bythe High School projects. They will be no match for the Chinese contractor. That’s probably why they were chosen.
The likkle people dem might get some work out of it, provided they can keep up with the coolies but the established contractors on island won’t see a whiff.