RPN Enterprises Ltd, the company that invested a staggering $25 million in a concrete batching plant in Cunupia to assist in construction of government building projects has suffered $5.6 million in losses in the six months it has been closed. The plant has not been able to operate because it has not been given approval by Town and Country Planning Division. Prem Ramhit, director of RPN Enterprises, said they were trying to obtain approval to begin operating although the group, Concerned Residents Of Cunupia (CROC), was recently granted judicial review by Justice Mira Dean-Armorer in the High Court.
The group, through its attorney Marina Narinesingh, claims a decision by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to grant a consent order on April 30 to permit the operations of the plant was "unlawful, null and void and of no effect." The residents say they have been affected by dust, noise pollution and health problems since the plant was set up in their area last year.
CROC can apply to the court to get an interim order to stop the operations of the plant until the matter is fully determined by the court. Parasram Maharaj, accountant for the group of companies, said if RPN Enterprises were ordered to cease operation by the court, 2000 jobs would be lost. "Obviously this has been causing us sleepless nights," he said.
Ramhit told the Sunday Guardian: "We will not allow our trucks to sit idly by and will source a piece of land to set up another plant elsewhere, once they get the necessary approvals. It would cost us a lot to dismantle and set up again. We are fighting right through. We hope God is on our side...we hope we win the battle because these people have nothing to worry about.
"I am hurt because we are portrayed to be putting people's health in danger. That is not true. Their intention is to shut down our front gate," he said. Ramhit said the plant is eco-friendly and the best in the Caribbean with state-of-the-art technology. Although it has never operated, test runs were done in February during which dust from the plant managed to escape. This was filmed by residents and the video was posted on YouTube.
"This plant was made to be set up in Port-of-Spain or Toronto. If you doing an extension of a hospital you could set it up there. Only filtered air comes out of the plant. It is safe," insisted Ramhit. During a tour of the 26-acre facility on Thursday, Ramhit pointed out that dust and noise were at a minimum. Ducks and a turtle swam in a ten-foot man-made pond filled with tilapia. Concrete benches and tables dotted the landscape.
Ramhit said if the plant were dangerous his fishes and plants would have died. He said there are other industries operating in the area, so he could not understand why his plant was being targeted. Ramhit said the facility was developed to produce concrete for the foundations of 800 single units, town houses and drains at an HDC housing development in Egypt Village which has to be completed by 2014. He vowed to deliver the houses on time despite the obstacles, so the company has been buying pre-mixed cement from Coosal's and has $1 million in cement from Trinidad Cement Limited in storage.
