Dart in talks over cruise port land
The Dart Group has confirmed that it has been approached by the Verdant Isle consortium about a piece of land it owns becoming part of the controversial cruise berthing facility and cargo project.
The group, which won the bid to develop the project, released a picture of the planned area of the development, which includes the land owned by Cayman’s largest investor.
Answering CNS queries about how the Dart land was encompassed within the plan footprint (see circled plot), Dart said that it had been approached by the port partners but nothing had been agreed.
“We have been approached by the preferred bidder to explore our willingness to make the parcel available for the port project; there have been no discussions about the parcel with CIG. To date no commitments have been made,” a spokesperson for Dart told us in an emailed statement.
Dart had at one time been in the running as a potential developer for the cruise berthing facility. In 2009 DECCO, the Dart Group’s construction company, came out top in a bid for the project by the Port Authority but they eventually pulled out of negotiations over a stalemate on the lease period for what then had included an upland development.
It is not clear whether or not Dart ever submitted any bids in the preliminary rounds of the tendering process that were re-started under the last two PPM-led governments. However, Dart has offered its support to the project and it has been keen to use some of its other beachfront land around the island, from Seven Mile Beach to Barkers, to host cruise passengers.
Answering CNS queries about how the Dart land was encompassed within the plan footprint (see circled plot), Dart said that it had been approached by the port partners but nothing had been agreed.
“We have been approached by the preferred bidder to explore our willingness to make the parcel available for the port project; there have been no discussions about the parcel with CIG. To date no commitments have been made,” a spokesperson for Dart told us in an emailed statement.
Dart had at one time been in the running as a potential developer for the cruise berthing facility. In 2009 DECCO, the Dart Group’s construction company, came out top in a bid for the project by the Port Authority but they eventually pulled out of negotiations over a stalemate on the lease period for what then had included an upland development.
It is not clear whether or not Dart ever submitted any bids in the preliminary rounds of the tendering process that were re-started under the last two PPM-led governments. However, Dart has offered its support to the project and it has been keen to use some of its other beachfront land around the island, from Seven Mile Beach to Barkers, to host cruise passengers.
