With only 60 days to do a comprehensive review to determine whether the social impact of the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Solomon Hochoy Highway was adequately addressed, an office for the review committee is yet to be established and experts are yet to be hired.
But Independent Senator Dr James Armstrong, chairman of the committee being set up by the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) and other groups to do the review, said yesterday he was confident the logistics would be worked out by the end of the week or early next week. He said: "We are in the process of setting up the logistical framework and all other arrangements. We are trying to get some office space at the moment.
"We are not sure as yet where it would be but it does not matter whether it is in Port-of-Spain or Penal, we will get there." One option, he said, was the Professional Centre Building at Fitzblackman Drive, Wrightson Road Extension, Port-of-Spain. He said he would be working closely with members of the JCC to select suitable experts who could provide independent opinions.
"There may be many qualified technocrats out there but what we are looking for are people who could bring independent thinking to the work to be carried out. "We don't want someone who may have been associated with the project in one way or other before because that would defeat the purpose," Armstrong said.
Once people were hired, he added, costs would be allocated. Those included transportation, hydrology and drainage, social and economic impact, economic analysis, highway engineering and property valuation, he said. He added: "We have not been able to determine the cost as yet. That cannot be done until we have found suitable people in the disciplines we are looking for."
Armstrong said apart from having the task of reviewing documents from the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco), the committee would also take into consideration oral and written submissions from members of the public. He described the terms of reference finalised by the JCC on Tuesday as comprehensive. He said although six weeks was a tight time limit, he was confident the deadline would be met.
Terms of reference
• Review all the documentation provided by Nidco, HRM and other interested parties.
• Invite written and oral submissions from interested parties.
• Ascertain transparency and compliance with prevailing statutory requirements.
• Examine the process of public consultation and public information.
• Examine the terms of reference issued by the Environmental Management Authority for an environmental impact assessment, along with any other relevant documentation, in order to ascertain implications for social, economic and environmental impacts of the highway development, including consideration of land tenure, land acquisition and costs, land use and displacement of families and attendant settlement development.
• This component of the review will consider cost-benefit analysis; social impact assessment; terrestrial and marine ecology, hydrology, drainage and public utilities.
• Examine the route selection process, including the consideration of alternatives and the choice criteria.
• Make recommendations for best practice.
• Undertake any related tasks which will enhance the content of the report.
About James Armstrong
Dr James Armstrong is a development planner. He has a first degree in environmental design, a masters degree in urban and regional planning from Columbia University in New York and a PhD in developmental planning from the University of Nairobi. He began his PhD at Columbia University and then completed it in Kenya, where he was employed with the United Nations, with which he had worked for 25 years.
He returned to T&T in 2000, having taken early retirement. He served at the executive level of the local UN Association and was also a member of the National Trust and is on the executive of the Art Society.