Reconsider proposed Toco port

A newspaper article of August 7 reminded readers that during the campaign for the 2015 general election, then opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley promised that a People’s National Movement government would build a port in Toco as well as an A-class road to Toco from Valencia.

A Newsday report on May 16 stated that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will make funds available for the construction of the road and the port.

Prime Minister Rowley declined to give the cost of the project but said it would be a significant sum.

One would have expected that a first step would have been the completion of a feasibility study to determine, among other things, the destination of the majority of ferry passengers from Tobago and the cost of the project before any arrangement was made with the IDB. This loan will add to the debt which we are leaving for future generations.

Has the area to be used for the port and the ownership of the land been determined? Has the area been surveyed? And, most importantly, has a Certificate of Environmental Clearance been issued by the Environmental Management Authority? Have consultations been held with the people of Toco to determine whether they approve the construction of a port and destruction of existing facilities? Do the people of Tobago, including the Tobago House of Assembly, the Tobago Division of the TT Chamber of Commerce and business interests appreciate the additional costs to be incurred for transportation of cargo from suppliers’ warehouses in western Trinidad to the Toco port? Are the people of Tobago prepared to accept this increase in their cost of living? And what about the cost to passengers for travel by bus or maxitaxi from Toco to Port-of-Spain and the travel time? At present the maxi-taxi fare from Arima to Port-of-Spain is $7, and the travel time, via the Priority Bus Route, is approximately 45 minutes.

The trip from Arima to Port -of- Spain by private vehicle along the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway takes up to two hours. The majority of Arima residents leave home by 5.30 am to arrive in Port-of- Spain before 8 am. Consider the time it will take to travel from Toco to Port-of-Spain. The fast ferry makes the trip from Scarborough to Port-of-Spain in two and a half hours, with maxi-taxis available within walking distance.

The capacity of each fast ferry is approximately 800 passengers and 200 vehicles. Just imagine the number of buses and maxi-taxis required to transport a full load of passengers with their luggage and the congestion created not only at the terminal but also along the Toco road, the Valencia road and the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway.

Mr Prime Minister, kindly “mash brakes” and await the results of a feasibility survey, await the Certificate of Environmental Clearance and, most importantly, hold public consultations with the people of Toco to determine whether they approve of the construction of a Port and whether the people of Tobago are prepared to accept the increase in travel costs and the inevitable increase in their cost of foodstuff and building materials.

In my opinion money will be better spent in upgrading the Port-of-Spain Ferry Terminal, by reclamation of that area south of the lighthouse to provide for the widening of the Beetham Highway in the area, an increase in the holding area for vehicles to be loaded onto the ferry and storage of containers used to transport cargo to and from To b a g o .

This will also increase the Qu e e n’s Wharf area used by inter- island vessels.