Government To Exit Integrated Solid Waste Management System Agreement With DART Consortium
Minister of Sustainability
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By Alric Lindsay
In a sitting of the Parliament today, July 25, 2024, the Minister of Sustainability Katherine Ebanks-Wilks announced that “following a recent meeting of the Cabinet, it was collectively decided that the Cayman Islands Government should begin taking the necessary steps to exit the project agreement, with the Dart-led consortium” in respect of the Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) project. However, the landfill remediation work is not expected to be impacted and will continue.
Explaining the basis for the Government’s decision, the Minister of Sustainability said, “put simply, this was decided because we need to find a more affordable option for our country.”
She added:
ISWMS is a long-term project which has significant impact on the Government’s forecasts and fiscal compliance over the lifecycle of the project.
The long-term financial forecast sets out non-compliance with the Principles of Responsible Management which will severely restrict the Government’s ability to make independent budgetary decisions as it will be required to seek the approval of the United Kingdom Government for budget approval during the forecast period of non-compliance.
The Minister of Sustainability also highlighted the importance of sustainability when making decisions.
She said:
Achieving a modern, sustainable and affordable solid waste management solution for the Cayman Islands remains a key priority for our Government.
Sustainability is to focus on the wellbeing of our people, by promoting practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations.
Our choices have a profound impact on the well-being of future generations and it is our duty and responsibility to make [sustainable] decisions. On that basis the Government has taken this position.
Regarding the next steps, the Minister of Sustainability said that the project team will now “take the necessary steps to exit the project agreement in a way that would be agreeable to both sides.”
However, she noted that the agreement to facilitate the George Town Landfill closure and remediation work (for which the Government spent 23 million dollars between October 2020 and March 2024) will continue.
Concerning what will replace the ISWMS project agreement, she explained that the Government will start a new tendering process and ask bidders to make proposals.
Addressing whether there would be sufficient time to redo the tendering process, she explained:
The answer to that question is yes.
Based on the forecast rate of waste input per month, the Department of Environmental Health, under the Ministry of Health, is confident in their ability to maximise the existing space at the George Town Landfill until a new solution is determined.
Barring a major debris-causing event such as a hurricane, the Department of Environmental Health expects to have another five to six years of landfilling space before reaching the 70-foot contour on the northwest mound of the current landfill, when Phase Two of the remediation at the GT Landfill can then begin.
She added that this time around, the Government would also consider “the development of local air quality standards and related legislation to govern air quality emissions,” which are measures that were not in place locally as a pre-requisite for the waste to energy project (the parties were instead reportedly relying on international standards).
Members of the public now await more details of the second tendering process and full disclosure of the estimated project cost, which was reportedly in the region of $2 billion for the ISWMS project (this figure is based on statements made in Parliament by another MP).
