Despite objections to a section of the Point Fortin Highway, Minister of Finance and the Economy Larry Howai has made it clear that the now controversial construction will go ahead as planned. He said the project was key to national development and that one immediate benefit would be the reduction of time lost commuting among the nation's workforce which would result in increased productivity.
Underscoring his firmest support yet for the project, which is estimated to cost taxpayers $7.5 billion, Howai offered a rationale for Government's infrastructure development plans. "The Point Fortin Highway will be the biggest project for Government come 2013. Motor vehicle sales, of course, have continued to accelerate and of course the need for continuing a programme of developing the infrastructure to accommodate the growth in the number of vehicles on the roads and the need for us to increase productivity by reducing travel time has become a priority of the government. So I expect during the course of the coming year, we will continue to see initiatives that will lead to the continuing growth and expansion of the quarrying industry in T&T. I see the quarrying industry as strategic to the initiatives that we have for kickstarting the economy," he said.
Speaking at the Quarry Association of T&T Annual Dinner and Awards held at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya, at the weekend, Howai said construction of the highway was a necessary undertaking. In addition to this single major project, said Howai, a number of rural projects to come on stream will constitute the underpinnings through which Government expects to see the T&T economy grow in 2013. "An important part of our initiatives is to get the economy moving in the short term. Most sectors of the economy are doing well. The retail segment has been showing growth and the banking and financial sector has continued to report sound profits and increasing profit. Credit has continued to grow. Year on year, we have seen an expansion of credit by approximately five per cent following declines in previous years. So more and more we (are) starting to see initiatives that suggest that sectors of the economy are continuing to grow," he said.
But Ramdeo Persad, president of the Quarry Association of T&T, responded the Howai's statement that the quarry industry has a vital role to play in stimulating growth, lashing out at Government, claiming that the Kamla Persad-Bissessar led administration has allowed OAS Construction and the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to import aggregate for major national development projects, even though local quarries were producing a product of similar high quality.
He said during this country's first economic boom in the late 1970s to mid-80s, T&T witnessed major construction projects from the Twin Towers to the Hall of Justice, the Mount Hope Medical Complex, the Priority Bus route as well as the dualling of Beetham, Churchill Roosevelt and Uriah Butler Highways. All of these were built with material from local quarry producers. "Not a single stone was imported for any of these projects. It is curious that all of a sudden our local aggregate from our quarry producers is deemed unsuitable. Have we considered the full economic effects of the continuous importation of aggregates for use? Will it add any value to the local industry? Will it impact negatively on our foreign exchange revenues? These are the burning issues that are important and must be addressed as the ensuing fallout will have a huge impact on all quarry operators including the state-owned National Quarries Company Limited. The domino effect will be disastrous! Large operators with significant investment will reduce their operations. The smaller ones may have to fold and supporting industries will disappear. I am not bringing bad tidings, but retrenchment is imminent," he said.
Since 2009, said Persad, the quarrying industry has been in steady decline, but when the People's Partnership came into office in May 2010, the Government announced the implementation of several large infrastructural projects that were potentially immeasurable for the industry. "Then came the San Fernando to Point Fortin highway. This project is anticipated to utilise several million cubic metres of aggregate and is seen thus by the fraternity as the only hope to revitalise the local industry. As with all publicly funded projects, the taxpayers must be the ultimate beneficiaries and in this regard, the local content must be examined," said Persad.