Tobago can benefit from construction technology being used in China.

Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, speaking at last week’s Executive Council media briefing at the Administrative Complex, Calder Hall, said he visited a construction site of the Chinese Railway Construction Company on his recent trip to China to get some insight into the work it does. Charles, accompanied by Infrastructure Secretary Kwesi Des Vignes, visited China, for the China-Latin America and the Caribbean (CLAC) International Exposition in Zhuhai.

“I took the opportunity to discuss with one of the principle, the possibility of having some of our local engineers to be part of that construction activity in Tobago, for some period of time so that they can be exposed to the kind of technology that the Chinese seem to be famous for,” Charles told reporters.

Noting that the company was currently building a 1,300-room hotel, he said:

“They have all of 1,600 workers on the site.… Picture that logistical challenge of having 1,600 employees at the same time on one site and the kind of management systems that they must employ to ensure that there is a particular kind of productivity.”

Noting construction of that building was expected to be completed in less than a year, he said Tobago could benefit from similar productivity.

China Railway Construction built the Scarborough General Hospital which was opened in December 2012.