New complex will not affect port operations

CONSTRUCTION of a $1.2 billion waterfront complex in Port-of-Spain will not retard operations at the Port-of-Spain port. The complex could be used to house the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Secretariat, should Trinidad and Tobago win its bid for the secretariat. Demolition work on structures near the old Cruise Ship Complex building on Wrightson Road began last week, in preparation for the start of construction of the new complex. Port Authority of TT (PATT) chairman Noel Garcia told Newsday yesterday the construction would not impact negatively on the port’s daily operations.

Garcia said the Cruise Ship Complex has since been relocated to Shed Four on the port and work is being done to develop 7.5 hectares of land in the Invaders Bay area for the port’s expansion. Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU) president-general Michael Annisette said the union had no problems with the waterfront construction, but stressed there must be parallel development of port facilities in Port-of-Spain. Annisette said there continued to be a space problem at the port and he had articulated this point at the opening of Berth Seven last year. He hoped Government would move expeditiously to improve facilities at the port and added that with proper planning, an additional 400 metres of berthing space could be created in Port-of-Spain.

TT Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) president Anthony Aboud said he was assured by PATT officials the waterfront complex would not affect operations at the port. However, the TTMA president said he remained concerned about ongoing delays in getting containers off the port. He noted that while the PATT had proposed to implement a new container transport monitoring system to address the problem, damage to that system’s infrastructure meant it may not be operable in the short-term. Annisette said that system might not be conducive to the types of operations currently undertaken at the port. On the relocation of the Breakfast Shed, Garcia said negotiations with the vendors were ongoing. Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said, “Everything will be done to ensure the vendors would have proper facilities to conduct their business.”