$21 million technology centre in Laventille

The youth of the Laventille area and environs very soon stand to benefit from the construction of a $21 million Technology and Continuing Education Centre at the site of the old Rum Bond Building on the Eastern Main Road, Laventille.

The Centre, a project of the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC), seeks to provide students with skills training in a number of areas to allow for meaningful employment in the energy and industry sector.
Speaking at the Construction Commencement Ceremony held at the site yesterday, NESC Chairman of the Board of Governors, Professor Ken Julien, revealed that the Centre, which occupies 60,000 square feet of space, was a major part of NESC’s move to offer support to areas of the country outside of  Point Lisas. He revealed that although Government, through the Ministry of Energy, provided the “seed money” to get the project off the ground, NESC sought to acquire its own funding for the construction of the building as well as the supply of equipment.

The existing building, the remains of the old Rum Bond building which was gutted by fire in 1994, he explained, will not be destroyed and a new building constructed in its place. Instead, Professor Julien stated, testing of the walls revealed that they were structurally sound to build on. Work on the site is expected to begin on Tuesday and be completed within the year. Prime Minister Patrick Manning, described the construction of the Centre as “an important and critical development in the area.”