Business
Ryan Hamilton-Davis
The government has a grand vision for the future.
With high-rise buildings, medical complexes, new roads and waterfront properties, the government in its Revitalisation Blueprint unveiled on November 7 promises to transform TT to a first-world nation in ten years, providing more than 50,000 jobs in the process and heralding a new era of TT excellence in the region.
The revitalisation plan has already gained significant endorsements with key figures in the business sector calling the plan “colourful” and “ambitious.”
However, the plan, with about 129 construction projects aimed at revamping and upgrading key areas across TT, including the Port of Spain and San Fernando waterfronts, Invaders Bay and Queen’s Park Savannah and major expansions to the Port of Spain Port, may have to face certain realities.
Chief among these realities are feasibility, investment and time.
Several business leaders have said that while the revitalisation plan has the potential to make TT great again, it will depend on how quickly the dream of a futuristic TT can gain investment.
How much can be done?
President of the Confederation of Regional Business Owners Vivek Charran told Newsday on November 11 that how much could be done in the government’s first term is not a simple one.
“It has to take into account how quickly people respond in the private sector and internationally to the projects,” he said. “The quicker they respond to the projects in a positive way the faster they start to happen and the quicker they can be completed within the five years.”
He added that the size of the projects were wide and varied, which means that some would be able to be completed faster than others.
He pointed out projects such as the decommissioning of Carrera Island, the road from San Fernando to Mayaro could be low-hanging fruit that could be done in the first term and set the tone and pace for the revitalisation and development plan.
“I think the decommissioning of the island is an amazing thing,” he said. “Even before we decide to put a hotel there or over-water bungalows, the idea that you have decommissioned the prison already allows for income to be generated for tourism both locally and internationally through tours to the island prison, which is a rarity.
“It is an instagramable moment where you can say, ‘I went to an island prison in TT’, there aren’t many in the world.”
He mentioned Alcatraz Island which has been popular enough to attract more than 1.4 million visitors a year (the same population as TT) and generate substantial revenue. Rikers Island is also set to be decommissioned in 2027. He added that the island could be something akin to No Man’s Land – a secluded Tobago sand spit close to Nylon Pool known for its snorkeling, boat tours and beach events.
“A lot of commercial activity could happen on that island (Carrera),” Charran said. “Depending on the commercial activity, the government earns a rent or some sort of income depending on the manner of commercial activity that could be both in foreign exchange and in TT. If you lease part of the island to certain individuals the government itself could earn some income.”
“I think when it comes to road building that could happen within this five years,” he added. “When it comes to smaller projects, at least getting them off the ground I think things like that could happen within the next five years if the local contractor sector and the real estate property development sector actually gravitates toward these projects that the government wants.”
Possibility and profitability
Charran said the success of the plans depend on the local private sector’s interest and support, as well as foreign direct investment in one form or the other.
He added that when one looks at the growth of the real estate sector and the amount of property development, it is quite possible that our local private sector has the ability to invest.
“I believe they (the government) may be looking at local investors to invest in building, given the fact that the government would supply the plans, land and clear the way for them to do so.
“If you look over the past couple years, while other sectors have been challenged, particularly retail, the property development sector has boomed in a sense.
“We see Superpharms going up, we see new malls going up, we see supermarkets expanding and building new branches. They are now building strip malls in different locations particularly in more rural areas or further east away from very commercial areas. In the last ten years we have seen about four or five new smaller malls go up.”
MovieTowne CEO Derek Chin said to Newsday in a Whatsapp message that he would like to approach the government with his “Streets of the World” project which he put forward to the previous UNC-led administration in 2011, when their plans for revitalisation were being put forward.
“The Prime Minister was my greatest supporter for that project back in 2011 but it got sidelined by other undermining interests,” Chin claimed.
He said he plans to do a renewed, updated proposal and presentation for the project, expressing confidence that it would enhance tourism.
“(It is) a true diversification project with many major benefits to the country,” he said. “The country missed out big time by having this project shelved. There is nothing more appropriate than the idle lands at Invaders Bay. Whether I still have the energy to do such a project is another question. I know the PM and her cabinet will love this project.”
Charran also saw big possibilities in the plans for several high-rise residential buildings, noting the ancillary benefits that could come even before the plans for the larger hotels can be realised.
“If you look at Port of Spain there is very little free-hold land available. In fact, there is none at all unless you go to the extremes such as Chaguaramas and so on.
“It is very rare to find these homes for sale and when they are for sale they are highly priced. If one wants to live in Port of Spain the only direction is up.”
He said plans for these buildings were similar to projects in Miami with high-rise residential apartments being made available.
“If these things are built there is the sense that for carnival, while we are waiting for more hotels there are a lot of opportunities for income from people renting right there in Port of Spain for Carnival,” he said.
He also said energy tourism and other forms of tourism in southern Trinidad could also be enhanced with high-rise residential areas in San Fernando.
“As Guyana and Suriname develops we are still a major hub in terms of flights in TT because of the lack of direct flights to Venezuela now, and in the near future. Then you can look at the situation where you could find that it (encourages) that energy sector in the south with the city building itself and people renting in the city.
“On that basis that depends on what the price points are for these places. That would be determined by the builders or the investors. There is room for profitability in those things.”
Chin: It has to make sense
Chin warned that while revitalisation has been on the agenda for some time, the projects have to make sense.
“It comes down to the right concept,” Chin said. “One that can attract foreign exchange to the country’s coffers by meaningful, sustainable tourism,” he said.
He said as a businessman he would need more details about incentives and funding. Referring at the National Academy for Performing Arts, he said some projects could be “white elephants” that costs the state more than it earns.
“NAPA is nice but it costs the taxpayers and never earns its keep. That’s what’s important.”
He recalled facing backlash for criticising previous administrations’ plans for revitalisation and calling them “pie in the sky.”
He maintained that previous plans were too grandiose and lacked the attributes that made them both attractive and, ultimately, possible.
“This new UNC revitalisation plan has to address the shortfalls of the past one and a lot of tweaking and massaging still has to be done to structure the right blend and attraction for these concepts to be workable and make investment sense.
It’s good to create excitement and potential vision and to start to stimulate interest in new possibilities but there is a lot still to be done to even approach workable,” he said.
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