Govt sees positives at InTech Park

He said this is the most pressing economic issue facing the country, commenting that, “Our economy is evolving in such a way that it will become difficult for people with lower levels of education to find jobs to sustain themselves.” Cuffie later said that the Tamana InTech Park could be this country’s Silicon Valley .

The tour included Ambassadors and High Commissioners resident in this country who were expected to collect information about the park to send to companies in their home countries which might be interested in doing business in Trinidad and Tobago .

Executives of e-Teck, which is developing the park, said it is currently negotiating with between ten and fifteen companies and those negotiations are mostly complete in terms of the first phase of the estate .

The park already has one tenant, Florida-based iQor, described as one of the world’s largest business outsourcing companies, operating in the Flagship Building and has completed negotiations with one tenant for the lease of one lot .

Executives said that $1.08 billion has so far been spent developing the park and its first 21 lots. They said that once they have negotiated tenancies for half of those lots they will begin development of Phase Two of the park .

In his address, Professor Emeritus Ken Julien, Chairman of the Board of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), said UTT will set up programmes suitable to Trinidad and Tobago and is looking to fill gaps which are not being done or are not being done properly. He said one such programme would be aviation; another would be food security including Bio Sciences/Agriculture and Food Science .

A teacher training programme that would be four years instead of two as well as programmes in engineering; Information and Communication Technology (ICT); biomedical engineering; maritime studies and performing arts. He said the UTT is also considering a programme in security and public safety to deal with the current crime situation and train people at all levels who can contribute to dealing with crime.