Minister visits site of Freeport business centre

Six months after turning the sod for construction of the Centre for Enterprise Development, Planning Minister Dr Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie returned to the site yesterday to see the progress of works. The centre, at Freeport, is expected to boost business development in south and central Trinidad.

Speaking to reporters after the tour, Tewarie said construction experienced a month long setback, but should open in the first quarter of this year. He said the logistics are still being worked out but he is confident one section of the centre will be on stream by the end of this month.

The facility, a project of the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (Cariri) will provide accommodation, technical and business advisory support services to individuals and enterprises with innovative ideas and projects from the business incubation stage to commercialisation.

Tewarie said the economic growth required in T&T cannot always be achieved by following traditional business models. He said a competitive, innovation-driven economy is now an imperative for sustainability and prosperity, and entrepreneurship must be the driving force for generating higher levels of growth. Among those who visited the site were Cariri chairman Hayden Ferreira and CEO Liaquat Ali Shah.