Port up for sale on world market

THE Port-of-Spain port has been put up for sale on the international market. This was done after efforts to have a local business enterprise own and operate the country’s marine transport hub failed, according to Legal Affairs Minister Danny Montano. Addressing a media briefing held prior to the Prices Advisory Committee’s one-day strategy session at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Montano expressed his disappointment that the port had to be sold on the international market. Montano explained that based on previous consultations with the Port Authority, it was realised that there were inefficiencies at the port, and since Government was not in the “business of running a business, because running a business is best left to the businessmen,” a decision was taken to privatise the port.

He said the port was publicly advertised for local bids, since the ministry believed that something as significant as the operations of the port should be owned locally. He noted, however, there was very little interest from the local business community. He said the view was that the “management was not there.” “What we were hoping was that one of our local businesses would have bought the port and, if they thought management was not in place, then they would have put the necessary things in place to deal with this,” stated Montano. The minister noted that the port was an important part of the business community, because everything that was brought here to be sold, or materials needed to manufacture goods in Trinidad and Tobago, needed to be imported.

He added that over the last year, shipping freight has been significantly increased, and is responsible for between 15 percent - 20 percent of the cost of items that are brought to be sold on the local market. He said that the port is the first place that a cost is added on to anything that enters the country. Noting that there was no certainty the port would actually be sold or that a deal would be struck, Montano advised that it was important for the Port Authority to address some of the issues that currently exist. He said if the port was actually sold on the international market, he was hopeful that it would be “managed more effectively and efficiently than it had been before.”