$150m regional complex to serve Princes Town

Princes Town is poised for an economic boost with the proposed construction of a $150 million regional corporation administration complex. Corporation chairman Ramraj Harripersad yesterday revealed the major construction project as he addressed a church service at St Stephen’s Anglican Church to commemorate Princes Town Day and the 133rd anniversary of the visit of British Princes Albert and George.

Harripersad said the project which is being piloted by Local Government Minister Dr Surajrattan Rambachan, will bring significant change to Princes Town. The complex, he said, will be constructed in Buen Intento and will service the needs of all communities that fall under the regional corporation’s jurisdiction.

“We are building that complex so that all of you in the Princes Town region, whether you are from Reform, Ben Lomond, Hardbargain, Moruga, Golconda and Lengua, you will be served,” he said. Harripersad said the sod-turning ceremony would most likely be held in April.

He said yesterday’s celebration was the first of a series of events to commemorate Princes Town’s founding. Harripersad said the corporation will also be holding a week of celebrations. The chairman said road work was being done in the Princes Town region to repair the landslips that have ravaged many communities in the Moruga/Tableland constituency.

The church service was followed by a military parade through High Street, Princes Town. Army recruits and fire and prisons officers marched through the town. A large contingent of corporation vehicles also joined the parade. Heavy equipment in the parade such as tractors and backhoes delighted eager St Stephen’s Anglican Primary School pupils, who had gathered at the side of the road to witness the display.

National Diversity and Social Integration Minister and Moruga/Tableland MP Clifton De Coteau called on Harripersad to restore the ornamental railings placed around two poui trees that were planted in the churchyard by the princes when they visited the town. The princes were grandsons of Queen Victoria. Prince George later became King George V.

De Coteau said the trees, which are still standing in the courtyard, are emblems and should be regarded as part of the town’s heritage. He also expressed distress over the  frequent misspelling of the town’s name. “For the love of me, it still gets me emotional when I see people spelling Princes Town ‘Princess Town’ with a double ‘s’. We do not want the double ‘s’. Leave out one of the ‘s’.  It was not Jane and Joan, (it was) Albert and George,” he said.

He also pleaded with Harripersad for additional funding for councillors to host Moruga Carnival celebrations. Archdeacon Edwin Primus, in his homily, called on Princes Town residents to remember their rich culture and respect the diversity that exists within the region.

Princes Town MP and deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Nela Khan said students should be aware of the history behind the town which was first called Mission of Savanna Grande. It was later renamed Princes Town after the visit of the British princes.