The Cayman Islands Government has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a CI$236 million loan facility to support the capital investment programme approved by Parliament for the 2026–2027 Budget period.
The proposed financing is not additional to the borrowing previously announced and approved as part of the Budget. The Appropriation (Financial Years 2026 and 2027) Act, 2025 authorised Government to borrow up to CI$124 million in 2026 and CI$112 million in 2027—a total of CI$236 million over the two-year period.
Minister for Finance and Economic Development and Chairman of Finance Committee, Hon. Rolston Anglin, confirmed that the procurement was underway during the Finance Committee proceedings in Parliament on Thursday, 8 October.
Responding to a question from Member of Parliament Roy McTaggart (George Town East), about whether Government had undertaken any borrowing during 2026 or planned to do so before year-end, Minister Anglin said: “The RFP is currently out for the borrowing and it’s on Bonfire. … I did make the commitment that we weren’t going to go to the market until we saw that we needed to. And so, we’ve now done that.”
Minister Anglin added during the exchange that the funds would be drawn down as appropriate in order to manage interest costs.
The RFP seeks proposals for a 15-year, unsecured, amortising loan facility. It provides for the financing to be made available in two tranches: CI$124 million upon signing of the agreement, or by 31 December 2026 at the latest, and CI$112 million within three months of executing the agreement or upon one month’s written notice of drawdown.
The proposed loan facility will support the Government’s overall capital programme. It is not earmarked in the RFP for any single project.
In presenting the 2026–2027 Budget in November 2025, Minister Anglin emphasised that the proposed
borrowing would be used to finance the capital programme and would not be used to fund Core Government’s operating expenditure, which is funded by operating revenue.
The original Budget provided for total capital investment of approximately CI$139.5 million in 2026 and CI$125.3 million in 2027—a combined CI$264.8 million over the two years—to be funded largely, but not entirely, through borrowing.
The approved capital programme includes investment in:
The completion of the new Cayman Brac High School and the expansion of educational facilities at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School and Joanna Clarke Primary School;
· The expansion, maintenance and improvement of the road network;
· Infrastructure and development projects;
· Land acquisition for agricultural and environmental-conservation purposes;
· Affordable housing; and
· Capital and equity investments in public entities.
The borrowing facility supports the capital programme as a whole. It would therefore be inaccurate to attribute the entire CI$236 million loan to one individual school, road, housing development or other infrastructure project.
Minister Anglin previously advised Parliament that Government would continue to monitor its cash reserves and financing requirements and would only approach the market when borrowing became necessary. The timing of the RFP reflects that approach, allowing Government to align the financing with the implementation of its capital programme while managing the interest costs associated with new debt.
The CI$134.3 million in supplementary appropriations approved by Finance Committee in June 2026 did not increase the borrowing authorised in the original Budget. Of those supplementary appropriations, CI$114 million related to capital and equity investment and CI$20.3 million related to operating expenditure.
Government confirmed at the time that the additional appropriations would be accommodated without increasing the CI$236 million borrowing limit approved for the 2026–2027 Budget period.
As of 31 August 2026, the Government’s debt balance was CI$471.8 million.
The RFP was issued through the Government’s Bonfire procurement portal on 29 September 2026. The deadline for submissions is 27 October 2026, with execution of the loan agreement currently anticipated in December 2026.
Pursuant to sections 6 (1) and (3) of the Procurement Regulations, all projects costing CI$100,000 or more must be published on the website designated by the Central Procurement Office (this designated website is called Bonfire). Additionally, section 7 of the Procurement Regulations affords Government the opportunity to secure the best possible price and to promote competition in the market.
As the Government is expected to incur costs of more than CI$100,000 in interest costs and other fees, the Procurement Act requires the public tendering of this loan facility.
The loan facility RFP may be viewed at https://cayman.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/256408