(CNS): The opposition is again calling for a cruise berthing facility in George Town, despite the lack of public support for such a project and pushback against the idea when the PPM was in office. A grassroots campaign secured enough voters’ signatures in 2019 to trigger a people-initiated referendum, making it clear the public wanted a say. But to date, no ballot has been held, and the current administration has turned its attention to cargo alone, which the Progressives say is a mistake.

Following the tourism ministry’s recent revelation that Cabinet has approved a strategic outline case to explore the possibility of expanding or possibly moving the George Town cargo port, Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart issued a statement urging the government to include cruise in this emerging but “flawed” plan. He has instead proposed a cargo and cruise dock, claiming that the two cannot be separated.

McTaggart said the government could not address cargo without addressing the question of the future of cruise tourism, an area he accused PACT of neglecting. He said the strategic outline case shows there is not enough revenue coming from cargo to cover the cost of an expanded dock without a significant fee hike.

He suggested the government should instead speak to the cruise lines about a financial partnership to develop a dock that could accommodate at least smaller cruise ships.

“The question of the future of cargo and cruise is inseparable and cannot be viewed in isolation,” he said in the statement, which also criticised the government’s failure to specify a cruise policy and the uncertainty about the future of that tourism sector. The opposition leader even proposed that this government should add a question about cruise tourism in its anticipated referendum on ganja and gambling.

McTaggart was finance minister in the last administration which was accused of trying to manipulate the people’s referendum, leading to a legal challenge with mixed results for both sides. But in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PPM abandoned the plans for a cruise facility and refused to hold the vote.

But now he is arguing for a return to the development of a cruise pier, albeit on a smaller scale, and for the people to vote on it.

McTaggart criticised Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan for his failure to address the cruise situation and said he should be “spending more time persuading the cruise companies to bring smaller cruise ships” all year round “to even out the passenger flow”, suggesting that “a walk-off/walk-on cruise pier may incentivise them”.

He said that involving cruise lines in the financing and building using a passenger head tax would avoid the public having to pick up the tab or the need to increase port fees.

The opposition leader berated the government over its neglect of cruise tourism, saying it needed to be more explicit about plans for the future in the face of declining numbers and after plans to develop a cruise tourism strategy did not materialize. “The tourism minister should end the uncertainty and focus on how to reimagine and strengthen our cruise tourism business for the long term,” McTaggart said.

The PPM leader also made it clear that the opposition does not support the proposal in the cargo business case for a new port in Breakers.

He said that Bryan “cannot genuinely believe that he will get a cargo port by dredging through a pristine reef at Breakers, through to the land and excavating some 65 acres to construct the channel and berthing basin for an inland cargo port facility. And that is just one of three phases of a project that will cross several election and budget cycles. The cost, the time, the risk, and the environmental impact will be too significant.”

The opposition leader said George Town was the place for the new cargo facility as well as “one or two walk-off/walk-on piers for smaller cruise ships”, and he urged the government to work with the cruise companies for a combined modern cargo and cruise berthing facility.

According to the tourism minister, the next step in the proposed redevelopment of the cargo port is for the government to issue a request for proposals for consultants to conduct the outline business case. When that is published, the consultants will be expected to examine the pros and cons of expanding the existing facilities in the capital or developing a new facility elsewhere.

Both possibilities pose significant environmental threats, and given how important the threat to marine life was in the Cruise Port Referendum campaign, it would be hard for any government to move forward with any port project, cruise or cargo, without a national vote.

See the full statement below: