Jun 2007 Financial News

Port projects to push out NFM

Jun 16, 2007

NATIONAL FLOUR Mills is to be moved from Wrightson Road, Port of Spain in due course, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said yesterday.

He said this was necessary because some of the world's leading port development and management companies had expressed an interest to tender for the development of the new Port of Port of Spain, carded for an East Sea Lots, Port of Spain location.

While Manning was clear that the entire Wrightson Road stretch would extensively change from how we know it today, he stopped short of saying whether NFM's relocation would allow for an extension of the current port, make way for new development, or whether there are also plans for the removal or upgrade of other landmarks like the John Donaldson Technical Institute.

He also made reference to the current development of a port at Galeota for use by stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, and another at Moruga to be used by fishing industry stakeholders. Manning made the disclosures during the Evolving Tecknologies and Enterprise Development Company's (eTeck) alignment seminar, which was held at the Hilton Trinidad in St Ann's.

Wrightson Road has already started to undergo a major transformation of sorts, with the Port of Spain International Waterfront Project in full swing.

Government sources have maintained that a proposal for a major link road has been placed on the table, which will supposedly pass through the current port facility "if and when it is decommissioned".

The Hyatt Regency Hotel, convention centre, 1,200 parking lot garage and office tower C-all tenets of the Waterfront Project, are carded for an end of year hand-over.

NFM's Edible Oils Complex and Rice Mill were closed last year and more than 140 workers were offered VSEP packages.

Source:
Roxanne Stapleton
The Trindad Express
Saturday 16th June, 2007

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