Sinanan: Govt will not stop projects which benefit TT

Speaking at the official opening of the $18 Million Freeport to Couva Parallel Access road, Solomon Hochoy Highway, yesterday, Sinanan said changes to the country’s governing structure could have halted construction of the access road.

“Two years ago when this project was first initiated till now, many major changes in our nation transpired that could have thwarted all of these improvements,” Sinanan said, and noted that the former People’s Partnership administration had designed and begun construction on the project.

“But I am proud to say that under this current political leadership, we are pleased to continue any work we deem as beneficial for the people of Trinidad and Tobago and it was for this reason, we never halted works,” he said, adding, “it was not the intention of government to end improvement efforts on a whim merely because they were conceived or initiated by a previous regime,” Sinanan said Sinanan, who also toured road rehabilitation works at Beaucarro Road, Freeport, Mosquito Creek and South Oropouche which experienced flooding of the roadway due to the high tides which were caused by last week’s Supermoon, identified three measures to halt flooding along the Creek.

“A lot of the water that was flooding the area came over the [sea] wall, it wasn’t that the wall was going way, no, it was just that we had a surge of water coming out and most of it came over the wall,” Sinanan said, and pointed to the gravel-clogged drains which did not permit water run off to occur.

“I have asked NBIDCO to immediately de-silt all the drains, we expecting that to happen one more time for the year, what happened here over the last couple of days is normal for what happened here over the past few years,” he said, adding additional pumps would also be brought into service while all of the cracks on the sea wall are expected to be sealed from next week.

He said the cost of the remedial works would be done “inhouse” by NIDCO and the Ministry of Works and reiterated his pledge to “do more with less.” Sinanan also pointed out that flooding along the Creek would be eliminated as soon as the Mosquito Creek segment of the San Fernando to Point Fortin highway was completed. “The solution here is when this project is finished so what we are trying to do now is mitigate the problems that we have, seal the wall, desilt the drains and put in more pumps as required,” he said, adding the Mosquito Creek segment should be restarted next year.