Faced with rapid coastal erosion, the popular Quinam Beach in Penal has received a $12 million facelift.
The facility, which was officially opened by Works Minister Rohan Sinanan yesterday, had been closed for the past few months while the Coastal Protection Unit conducted land protection works.
Rocks from Tobago were stacked along a part of the eroded seafront and steps leading to the beach were constructed. A cliff overlooking the seafront was graded and special grass was planted to hold up the land.
However, the beach was littered with plastic bottles, heaps of dry wood and stones. Devon Hollwah, who came to the beach with his family said he was happy for the project.
“You should have seen what it looked like before. This garbage washed up from the sea. Before they did this work, it was dangerous. The children could have fallen over the cliff. There were old huts there but now the lifeguards have a proper place to stay,” Hollwah said.
The area does not have cell phone coverage and a source said it was common for boatloads of Venezuelans to arrive at the beach.
“Normally there are people here waiting for them. We have seen boatloads of goat and other animals brought up here. They release the animals in the forests,” the source added.
The Guardian Media team took more than a half- an- hour to traverse the bumpy 14-kilometre stretch filled with potholes. In some places, the road was shoddily patched. In other areas, heaps of stones were packed inside the gaping potholes.
Sinanan, when asked about the state of the road, admitted that the road conditions were not ideal.
“This road has been in that condition for a long time and we have a programme which we started to continue the rehabilitation of the road getting into Quinam,” Sinanan said.
He added that loggers used the road and this contributed to poor road conditions.
“This is an environmentally sensitive area and we have to be careful how we are opening up the road,” Sinanan said. Asked whether the Government planned to re-sheet the road, Sinanan said re-sheeting was not the best option.
“We need a whole rehabilitation of the road, which means getting into the foundation and rebuilding the road.
He said the ministry has collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Siparia Regional Corporation and the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation to complete the project.