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The proposed Central Government Campus Plaza which will be constructed in Chaguanas. - Photo courtesy ttglobalhub.gov.ttFORMER finance minister and Diego Martin North East MP Colm Imbert has scoffed at the government’s development plan for Trinidad and Tobago.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar launched the national infrastructure development plan, Trinidad and Tobago Revitalisation Blueprint, at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, on November 6.
The government believes the ten-year initiative, expected to begin in August 2026, will provide more than 50,000 jobs.
In a post on X, Imbert said, “The government can’t even pay salaries and allowances on time and hasn’t paid suppliers and contractors for months, yet in the midst of this chaos, the UNC has unveiled fantastic plans to transform Trinidad and Tobago into Dubai, complete with massive skyscrapers.”
His PNM colleague, San Fernando East MP Brian Manning, accused the government of attempting to replicate his late father’s development plan for the country.
“This is Patrick Manning’s Vision 2020 by another name,” he told Newsday via WhatsApp on November 8.
Manning, a former minister in the Ministry of Finance, said the UNC-led administration does not have any ideas.
“The same plans they undermined and criticised for almost two decades are exactly the plans they want to implement now.”
Referencing Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s contribution to a 2008 budget debate as a UNC MP, while his father was prime minister, Manning recalled that as part of her response on national development priorities, she contrasted resources going into “tall buildings in Port of Spain” with neglected community markets and services in areas such as Mayaro and Rio Claro to argue the build out was mis-prioritised and unnecessary for ordinary people.”
PNM political leader Pennelope Beckles, when contacted by Newsday, said the party will hold a news conference on the issue.
Former prime minister Patrick Manning, who died in 2016. -
The plan, which the government hopes will attract significant private sector participation, includes 129 construction projects to revamp and upgrade key areas across Trinidad and Tobago including the Port of Spain and San Fernando waterfronts, Invaders Bay and the Queen’s Park Savannah. The Port of Spain Port also will undergo a massive expansion.
The plan also involves the demolishing of the Port of Spain, Golden Grove and Carrera prisons and the rehousing of prisoners in a mammoth “justice centre” in Tamana, linked to a large national security complex in Mt Hope.
It also includes a 100-mile long road network, complete with highways, connecting San Fernando to communities such as Mayaro.
Works Minister Jearlean John, responding to questions from Newsday on November 7, said the first phase of the project is expected to be completed in five years and transition into the second phase in 2031.
Asked how the ministry will ensure that local contractors, small businessmen and workers benefit meaningfully from these developments, she said, “Minimum threshold of local content to be specified in RFP (request for proposal), actual figure based on project size to be determined upon consultation with the appropriate local content committee in Trinidad and Tobago.”
John said she was confident the plan will remain financially and politically sustainable across successive administrations.
“I am very confident since the people of Trinidad and Tobago have reached the level of consciousness to vote based on performance and delivery, hence based on our delivery of Phase 1 and the diversification and job benefits derived therein, it is only logical they would vote for continued hope and delivery for five more years.”
Asked whether an oversight or monitoring committee will be established to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the implementation process, John said, “This function, under law, lies with the Office of Procurement Regulator. They have and will continue to be integral in the rollout of the programme portfolio procurement process.”
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