Udecott projects hit $305M

THE Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago’s (Udecott) value of work has increased from $60 million to $305 million over the last three years, and it is expected that in the next three years, that figure will be more than $3.7 billion. The figures are contained in a statement from the Ministry of Planning and Development. The statement said Minister Camille Robinson-Regis recently submitted a status report of the projects being implemented by the corporation to Cabinet. The report contains information on the contractors, contract sums, commencement and completion dates and status of implementation of all projects.

A wholly owned State company, Udecott has undertaken the site planning for urban renewal projects, principally in the cities of Port-of-Spain and San Fernando and along the East/West corridor. The current urban development programme under implementation by the corporation involves the construction of office and accommodation for several ministries and departments of Government, the building of a range of housing units and selected tourism and culture projects. Other projects include the Government Administrative Complex in Siparia, the Waterfront Development such as the International Conference Complex at Wrightson Road and Invader’s Bay, the San Fernando Waterfront and Scarborough Esplanade in Tobago.

The statement said a number of the projects will be in varying stages of implementation over the period 2004 to 2007. It added that over the last three years, the corporation’s portfolio of projects had increased in number, size and complexity. The statement said a key component of the corporation’s business strategy is to “align its project financing policy with current best practices, which involves retreating from dependence on government guarantees in order to procure finance on the open market.”