$72M Port upgrade on stream

Boasting that no other private or State-owned company had grown as much as the Port Authority of TT (PATT) in the last year, chairman of the PATT Noel Garcia yesterday admitted that the Port is “bursting at the seams” as its resources have been stretched to capacity.

He said, however that the PATT remained committed and dedicated to establishing itself as the transhipment hub of the Caribbean. Addressing persons at the sod-turning ceremony for the reconstruction of Berth 7, portside or rather oceanside, Garcia said the subsequent reconstruction and expansion of Berth 7 would allow the Port to meet its desired objective of handling 500,000 TUs (containers) by the end of 2005. The main contractor of the project is Carillion Caribbean Ltd, and the project is expected to be completed by September at an estimated cost of $71.35 million. The executive of the PATT, along with Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Christine Sahadeo, proudly revealed that Government would not be injecting any monies into this project, and that it was being financed by Citibank Ltd.

Delivering welcoming remarks at the ceremony, Sahadeo claimed that while the PATT had acceded to the demands of the shipping industry, the expansion would reduce vessel lay-time and turnaround time, thus translating into more revenue. Apart from the construction, equipment for Berth 7 also needs to be acquired at an approximate cost of $70 million, under the loans financing for the Berth 7 project, said Sahadeo. PATT will also acquire other equipment totalling $133 million, she disclosed, which would allow the Port to handle an additional 100,000 TUs. First vice president of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU), Hubert Constantine, highlighted areas which the union thought needed work in order to help the expansion. These included the expansion of the container terminal, the acquisition of new equipment, upgrading/replacing of ageing equipment, and the occupation of critical land space which can be used for containerisation. Also condemning the location of  PATT’s head office, which Constantine claimed was “in the way of progress,” he urged the relevant persons to reconsider selling the Port’s land, as it is “counter-productive” to the Port’s development.

Delivering the feature address at the sod-turning was Works and Transport Minister Franklyn Khan, who advised that this expansion was only part of Government’s initiative in its thrust to make the Port of Port-of-Spain among the best in the world. He revealed that it would cost TT close to $20 million to upgrade its Port security in compliance with ISPS Code and which must be done by July 2004. If this is not done, ships not complying would be barred from a port of entry into the US, he stated. Commending the board on its performance, Khan also spoke of the salary negotiations being conducted with the SWWTU, and of the proposals which have already been submitted to the Chief Personnel Officer. In seeking to assure persons on the privatisation of the PATT, Khan said that while three international companies have approached Government on purchasing 51 percent of the PATT’s assets, they were found to be unacceptable. “A Government is the custodian of the assets of the State, and the assets of the State are placed in trust to the Government on behalf of the people. We cannot, will not and would never undersell the people of TT in the divestment process,” pledged Khan. He concluded by assuring persons that no more “ad-hoc” requests for Port land would be considered.