TCI News
Turks and Caicos Islands Government’s Capital Projects – Public Procurement Procedure
#Providenciales, October 24, 2018 – Turks and Caicos – The procurement process for capital projects of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government is managed by the Turks and Caicos Islands Procurement Board as per 
the requirements of the Public Procurement Ordinance of 2014 (PPO).
The Procurement Board is established according to the provisions of the Public Procurement Ordinance [PPO 23] and consist of:
“(a) a Chairperson, appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office at the pleasure of the Governor;
(b) six officers drawn from across government appointed by the Deputy Governor to hold office at the pleasure of the Deputy Governor;
(c) the Permanent Secretary, Finance; and
(d) the Director of Contracts.
(4) The Auditor General and Chief Internal Auditor (or their nominees) shall be invited to attend meetings of the Board.
(10) An appointed member of the Board may not remain a member of the Board for no more than six years.”
The members of the Procurement Board are as follows:
- Chairperson of the Board / Director, Office of the Governor: Mr. James Astwood
- Director of Planning: Mr. Dainer Lightbourne
- Project Economist: Ms. Salace Richardson
- Financial Manager: Mrs. Kimberley Simmons-Lewis
- Director, Office of the Deputy Governor: Mr. Tito Lightbourne
- Attorney General’s Chambers Representative: Mrs. Khalila Astwood-Tatem
- Attorney General’s Chambers Second Representative: Ms. Yaa McCartney or Mrs. Motheba Linton
- Permanent Secretary, Finance
- Director of Contracts
PPO 24 (1) states:
“The functions of the Procurement Board are to:
(a) award contracts;
(b) approve invitation to tender documents;
(c) approve procurement procedures;
(d) approve the choice of a procurement procedure;
(e) approve solicitation documents before issue;
(f) approve the findings of evaluation panels;
(g) endorse decisions of departmental tender boards; and
(h) approve contract documentation and any amendment to an awarded contract.”
It is the responsibility of the Director of Contracts and the Chairperson of the Procurement Board to “ensure that in carrying out its functions the Procurement Board follows the procedures prescribed” by the PPO [PPO 24 (3)].
In addition, there are several steps involved in the processing of tenders. For ease of reference and public awareness, see the itemized steps listed below from submission of tenders to contract award notification:
- Tenders are publicly opened immediately following the closing of an Invitation to Tender at the scheduled meeting of the Procurement Board [PPO 23 (13); PPO 41 (2)].
- All members of the Procurement Board are required to declare if there are any Conflicts of Interest (perceived or actual) with any of the Invitations to Tender which are scheduled to be opened. If a conflict of interest is identified, then the member willbe recused.
- Following the tender opening, all tenders are handed over to the Chairperson of the Evaluation Panel, as established bythe PPO [PPO 45].
- Evaluation Panels are formed according to the general composition as outlined inthe PPO [PPO 45]:
“an evaluation panel in respect of a capital project or a public/private partnership project must consist of:
(a) the Director of Contracts or a person appointed by the Director, who shall preside at meetings of the panel;
(b) the Permanent Secretary for the department that has responsibility for the project;
(c) a representative from the Ministry of Finance appointed by the Permanent Secretary, Finance; and
(d) not less than two other member appointed by the Board.”
- The inclusion of additional members “appointed by the Board” is dependent on the nature of the project. The basis for the selection of persons across government is to ensure that there is an appropriate balance of technical and other pertinent skills relevant to the project included on the Evaluation Panel.
- All members of the evaluation panel are required to declare if there are any Conflicts of Interest (perceived or actual) with any of the Tenderers who submitted tenders for the project. If a conflict of interest is identified, then the member willbe recused and a replacement will be sought for inclusion on the panel.
- Each tender is evaluated based on the criteria which was included in the published Invitation to Tender. No changes can be made to the Evaluation Criteria once the Invitation to Tender is closed [PPO 45 (4)]. The general sequencefor the evaluation is as follows:
- Completed and signed Certificate of Non-Collusion: “An evaluation panel must not consider a tender unless it includes a completed Certificate of Non-Collusion signed by or on behalf of the tenderer” [PPO 49 (1)]. If the certificate of non-collusion is not submitted or is not completed and/or signed, the tender is not considered any further.
- Meeting Pre-Qualification Criteria: a tender must satisfy all the pre-qualification requirements to move to the next stage.
- Achieving the minimum technical or quality score based on the weightings and minimum score required as stated in the published Invitation to Tender. The minimum score required must be achieved so that the tender can move to the next stage i.e. the price evaluation stage.
- Evaluation of Price
- Each member of the Evaluation Panel will score a tender and those scores are moderated with a moderated final score being submitted to the Chairperson of the Evaluation Panel.
- The Chairperson of the Evaluation Panel prepares an Evaluation Report and circulates to all members of the Evaluation Panel for review and agreement. If necessary, the evaluation report is amended based on any
feedback received from members of the Evaluation Panel and recirculated to the panel.
- The final Evaluation Report, inclusive of a summary of the review and the recommendation of the Evaluation Panel, is submitted to the Procurement Board for agreement that the process was followed according to the provisions of the PPO.
- The Secretary to the Procurement Board then prepares a Contract Award Notification, which is submitted to the Deputy Governor for onward submission to the Cabinet.
- The Cabinet considers the Contract Award Notification submitted. The purpose of the Contract Award Notification is to inform the Cabinet of the process followed according to the provisions of the PPO. It includes a summary of the evaluation exercise and the recommendation by the Procurement Board.
- The Cabinet Secretariat returns an Action Point, advising of the Cabinet’s decision in reference to the Contract Award Notification.
Release: TCIG
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, 20 February 2026 — The Informal Settlements Unit (ISU), in collaboration with key
government agencies, coordinated a multi-agency enforcement exercise on Thursday, February 5, 2026, at Block and Parcel 60609/33 in the Five Cays area.
The exercise was led by the Crown Land Unit, pursuant to its statutory mandate under the Crown Land Ordinance to prevent squatting and encroachment on Crown land. The ISU coordinated the operation, with support provided by the Planning Department and the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force, while the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force ensured security throughout the activity.
The enforcement action followed a series of inspections conducted by the Crown Land Unit throughout Five Cays, which identified several illegally constructed buildings made of concrete and timber on sections of the subject parcel. In keeping with the provisions of the Crown Land Ordinance, occupied structures were served Letters of Illegal Occupation, delivered by hand to occupants and
posted on structures where individuals were absent. Incomplete and unoccupied structures were served Notices of Unauthorized Occupation pursuant to section 22 of the Ordinance. A total of ten (10) Letters of Illegal Occupation and three (3) Notices of Unauthorized Occupation were issued during the exercise.
The Informal Settlements Unit reiterates that these coordinated enforcement exercises form part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to uphold the law, protect Crown land, and manage informal settlements in a structured and lawful manner. Members of the public are reminded that unauthorised occupation and development on Crown land is unlawful and subject to enforcement action.
Almost two million visitors recorded in 2025
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS – The Turks and Caicos Islands saw an increase in stayover arrivals in December, seven percent higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
Preliminary data suggests that stay over arrivals by air for the month of December was 66,427 in comparison to 62,610 in December 2024.
From January to December 2025, preliminary visitor arrival numbers totalled 640,754; on par with the number recorded for the same period of 2024.
Stay Over Arrivals YTD December 2024/2025
The first quarter of the calendar year attracted the largest number of arrivals with visitor arrivals three percent higher than the first quarter of 2024. Reduced airlift from the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably the Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue services, was however felt from the second quarter (April to June). As a result, visitor arrivals dropped three percent in the second quarter.
By the third quarter of this year (July to September), geopolitical and economic conditions in the key source markets, namely the United States, led to further contraction of arrivals. In the last quarter of 2025, arrivals were impacted in October due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa but additional airlift from the USA and Canada resulted in an increase in arrivals in November and December.
Mr. Paul Pennicook, Interim CEO Consultant of Experience Turks and Caicos, said December’s increase in stayover arrivals is an encouraging indicator of the sustained interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier destination.
“While we note and continue to monitor geopolitical shifts that affect us, Experience Turks and Caicos is focused on increasing marketing initiatives in our primary source markets. We have spent the last two years investing in groundwork such as crucial travel advisor training to assist them in selling the destination more effectively. In the next fiscal, we will be building on those initiatives with co-op activities with partners as well as out of home advertising to increase visitation to our destination,” he said.
In Cruise, the preliminary count of passenger arrivals for the month of December 2025 was 129,346, a 22 percent increase over last December. This growth follows the berthing of 11 additional ships in Grand Turk this month.
From January to December, the cruise sector continued to outperform the same period last year, as the 1.3 million total cruise passengers recorded, marks a five percent Year-on-Year increase. 
The cruise sector experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2025, with passenger arrivals surpassing last quarter by 53 percent. In the second and third quarter however, several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries as vessels were pulled from the fleet or from the Caribbean region, which resulted in fewer passengers.
Arrivals dropped seven percent and 10 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Double digit growth was recorded in the last two months of Quarter 4. This growth however, was not sufficient to outweigh the drop in arrivals experienced in October, following the cancellation of cruise calls due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Despite the late-quarter rebound, arrivals for the final quarter of 2025 closed six percent below the same period in 2024.
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