Government, through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment and other relevant ministries, is working aggressively and assiduously to improve the ease of doing business in T&T.Speaking at the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) Breakfast Meeting on Wednesday, Trade Minister Vasant Bharath assured that "the Government is positioning Trinidad and Tobago as a global investment hub and there is no doubt that the private sector will continue to play a key role in driving this country's economic activity.""Amidst the hurdles and barriers to doing business, T&T has many advantages such as low energy cost, ideal geographical location and strong macroeconomic indicators which can attract investors.
"However, we need to attract and retain these investors on our shores and for this reason the Government has aggressively embarked on an ease of doing business programme where the various indicators are being addressed in an effort to improve our ease of doing business ranking," he said.Identifying one of the improvements made in doing business, Bharath said: "It took 43 days to set up a business in Trinidad but after 15 months of legislative review and reforms and of course our TTBizlink system, it now takes three days."He added that Government was investing in seven new scanners for the ports in Port-of-Spain and Point Lisas.
"These scanners will reduce the checking/ assessment time for shipments at the ports," he said.Senator Bharath said very soon, there would be heightened economic activity in the Chaguanas area due to the rolling out of the Endeavour Economic Industrial Park–one of seven industrial parks–within the next 12 months.The Trade Ministry is working with the World Bank in determining the infrastructural and business requirements for these parks. Bharath also spoke about the proposed Camden Airpark Project which will "propel Trinidad and Tobago forward to becoming the leading general aviation centre in the Caribbean". "These developments will allow the Government to spread economic activity throughout Trinidad and Tobago and not just in the traditional areas," the minister said.