Port authority to invest US$82mn in Port of Spain expansion

The Trinidad & Tobago port authority will invest 500mn Trinidadian dollars (US$82mn) to expand its Port of Spain facilities, the Trinidad Express reported. The process began in 1994-5, but has recently been accelerated, the paper quoted port authority chairman Noel Garcia as saying. Four companies have been selected to deal with separate aspects of the port's operations, including Port of Port of Spain Company Ltd to handle cargo operations, Port Infrastructure Company Ltd to act as a holding company, the Trinidad & Tobago Inter Island Transportation Company and Destination Trinidad & Tobago to deal with cruise shipping. After first-phase expansion works, the authority estimates that the number of containers handled should rise to 500,000 containers/year up from last year's reported 300,000 containers, the paper said. Some 1 million containers/year could be handled by project completion. The authority also estimates some US$49mn-65mn/year in operating surpluses compared to US$11.3mn in 2002. Potential foreign investors are presenting proposals to invest in port operations, with a foreign partner expected to own 51% of operations and the government the remainder. The Cabinet will determine how to proceed, the paper added, though no timeframe was specified. "We are bringing in the partner for three main reasons - to build up the market, to bring the best practices (technology) and to bring investment," Garcia was quoted as saying. Other works include widening the turning circle, deepening the harbor, widening the channel, upgrading the terminal and launching an inter-island ferry service, the latter expected to cost US$33mn-41mn.