(CNS): More than four years after Cayman Enterprise City broke ground on the long-promised US$500 million campus masterplan and almost twelve years since the idea was first floated for this special economic zone, CEC has submitted a revised application to the planning department. However, residents in the area are concerned about the project’s potential to exacerbate flooding problems in the area, located between Fairbanks and South Sound, and the removal of about 50 acres of mangrove habitat.

The site earmarked for the project sits in the South Sound mangrove basin, where drainage and flooding issues have become a significant problem as a result of the considerable loss of primary mangrove wetland habitat. Back in November 2015, when the first planned area development (PAD) application was submitted by CEC, the Department of Environment raised concerns that the project would interfere with the stormwater retention functions of the mangroves, a problem that has worsened since then.

Despite the advice from the DoE as well as the Water Authority about the pressing need for a proper water management system in the area to tackle the mounting drainage problems before any more significant development takes place at this location, the project was given the green light. However, even after a public ground-breaking event in 2018, attended by government dignitaries armed with golden shovels, very little work has taken place at the site.

The new plans were circulated to neighbouring landowners on 21 December, and some have already lodged their objections to the project. Some residents have also raised concerns about the lack of transparency regarding transportation access. They are also asking for CEC to hold a public meeting to present and explain the plans, especially given the lack of both a stormwater management plan and a geotechnical survey to address the concerns about hydrology and sinkholes.

Twelve years ago the original CEC project was pitched to the UDP government on the basis that a campus would be constructed to bring jobs and investment, but for well over a decade the special economic zone has existed across the capital utilising various commercial buildings rather than in one physical location. It was initially conceived as a means of attracting new technology-related businesses, and legislation was created to ring-fence entities established in the zone, offering CEC’s tenants extremely favourable terms.

While there are some 300 companies now in the zone, the revenue source for the government and the local job generation has still fallen short of expectations, though people working for the companies have contributed to the domestic economy.

CEC companies are exempt from the usual company and work permit fees. Instead, businesses established in the virtual zone pay a package to CEC, out of which a flat fee of around $1,500 goes to the government for a three or five-year employment certificate for each expatriate worker employed in the zone, regardless of the job.

CNS has contacted CEC about the changes to the proposed development, and we are awaiting a response.

See the CEC plan here.