Minister: Atlantic LNG acting irresponsibly

POINT FORTIN MP and labour Minister Larry Achong said yesterday accused Atlantic LNG of acting “in a most irresponsible way”.

Achong , who spoke to reporters after the 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Employers’ Consultative Association (ECA) at the Trinidad Hilton, was questioned about the status of the sea wall at Clifton Hill Beach. “The people of Point have every right to be upset about a number of issues,” he said, identifying employment practices at Bechtel as a major concern. He claimed Atlantic LNG had “deprived the people of Trinidad of one of the premium beaches in South”. “As far as I am concerned, they have been extremely poor corporate citizens and they must rectify that, not by talking a lot of nonsense, but by doing the correct thing,” Achong said.

They can start restoring the beach, he suggested, in addition to preventing further erosion of the coastline. He urged officials of the company to look into health problems being experienced by residents near the plant. Achong said he could not understand how a plant handling Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) had “thick, black fumes coming out of its flare”. “We are giving LNG all the time to show that they are not just interested in coming here and making money,” he said.