(CNS): The tourism ministry has opened a public bid for architects to design the proposed waterfront tourism attraction project in George Town on North Church Street. The planned facility will be situated on land the government purchased over a year ago for around $5.6 million to develop a new tourist attraction and entertainment centre with bars, restaurants, a craft market, a pool and a beach area where local people will also be able to train in hospitality skills.

The request for quotations for architectural services, including drawings for inside and outside of the proposed facility and the related work, was issued last week, and qualified designers have until 17 February to submit their bids to design the centre.

Draft drawings submitted with the bid show three buildings which will house the restaurants and dining areas as well as the kitchens, and extensive outside space where there will be outside dining, the market and the waterfront facilities.

The project was proposed in November 2021 by Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, who said it was a “visionary project” that would become self-funding. “The benefits of this site and the government’s vision for it are almost too numerous to mention,” he told parliament as he announced the plans for the project. “But most importantly, it is an investment in our people that will provide reoccurring benefit to current and future generations of Caymanians.”