Investment buzz at Invaders Bay

THE transformation of Invaders Bay into a modern centre of entertainment and social activity is a welcome development. Opened several months ago, the Movie Towne cinema complex has proved an instant success as it has brought to Port-of-Spain a world-class facility featuring the latest productions of the movie world.

Last week Monday, the complex expanded its attractions with the opening of the first Ruby Tuesday casual dining restaurant in the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago becomes the 12th country to operate a Ruby Tuesday franchise which began in the United States some 30 years ago. According to Derek Chin, operator of the $6.5 million TT franchise, Ruby Tuesday restaurants have become famous for their salad bars. Chin deserves to be commended for his vision, his confidence in TT’s future and his courage to invest millions to bring such modern facilities to the nation’s capital. Indeed, he has plans to establish a Japanese restaurant called the Laughing Buddha at the complex. It seems that Chin’s initiative has sparked an investment momentum at Invaders Bay as Planning and Development Minister Keith Rowley recently announced that a 128-room Marriot Hotel will soon be going up in the area. The Marriot chain of hotels is well known in the United States for its service, and its establishment at Invaders Bay is sure to enhance the attractiveness of that western sea-side section of the city and the tourist potential of the country as a whole.

Once upon a time, the Bay was a bathing place for city dwellers who didn’t have the means of transport to reach Trinidad’s better known beaches. Now it is the scene of a magical kind of development providing top-class movie entertainment, quality eating, a variety of shopping and soon a modern hotel. The development of the Invaders Bay area, joining the already popular sports centre - the Jean Pierre Complex and the Hasley Crawford Stadium - brings a new excitement and quality of life to the nation’s capital city. There is land there for many other enterprises and one expects that the example set by Derek Chin will be followed by other investors, encouraged also by Minister Rowley’s promise of Government’s backing for any further development at Invaders Bay. Government, he assured, will always support any private sector venture which creates employment.

According to the Minister, western Port-of-Spain is becoming the social centre of Trinidad and Tobago and, as a result, land there has become extremely valuable. And the establishment of such First World businesses as Ruby Tuesday proved that the people of TT were capable of providing first world service. “We believe in our people to reach, aspsire to and attain the highest standards in the world,” he observed. The sparkling transformation of Invaders Bay underscores the optimistic economic outlook now growing throughout the nation. Still, the country owes a debt of gratitude to Mr Chin for launching the development of that area of Port-of-Spain to the tune of many millions.