Christlyn queries $28M upgrade contract for Scarborough market

Christlyn Moore, political leader of the Tobago Forwards is questioning the $28 million upgrade package for the derelict Scarborough market, suggesting that is way in excess of the cost of building a new market.

as opposed to the construction of a new market for the island.

Moore, speaking at a media briefing at the Scarborough port on Tuesday, recalled previous plans to construct a new market at Shaw Park at a cost of $10 million, rather than refurbishing the current structure on Wilson Road, Scarborough.

“The proposed market is going to be refurbished at a cost of $28 million, notwithstanding that there were plans to have a new market built for $10 million. How on earth does the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) reconcile the fact that it is choosing to refurbish that plant at $28 million as opposed to rebuilding it at $10 million?” she asked.

She said the $10 million cost for a new state of the art market is listed in a document titled Market Planning and Infrastructure Consultation - Assistance to the Planning and Design of a New Scarborough Market’, and which was commissioned by Division of Agriculture in conjunction with the THA and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

“In Tobago, we have seen money pass through this economy like salt, we have very little to show for it. This is another project where we would have very little to show and no value for money. We are challenging the Secretaries to ask why they are renovating for $28 million as opposed to rebuilding for $10 million,” she said.

Newsday Tobago attempted to contact Food Production Secretary Hayden Spencer for clarification but all calls to his mobile went unanswered.

On July 26, Trinidad-based contractors, Alpha Engineering and Construction Limited, entered into the $28 million contract for refurbishment of the Scarborough market. Vendors were in May relocated to a temporary market at Orange Hill Road, Shaw park, which was built at a cost of $4 million.

Speaking at the contract signing at the conference room of the Eco-Industrial Development Company of Tobago (E-IDCOT) Limited at the Cove Eco-Industrial Business Park, Chief Executive Officer of E-IDCOT, Lois Leslie gave the $28 million for refurbishment work and said the Scarborough Market was to be completed in one year’s time. She did not detail the cope of works.

Leslie said that the main purpose of the remodelling was to meet the needs of the everchanging environment and demands of farmers in the island, while promoting agriculture as a viable business, increasing the number of commercial agro-processors and improving agricultural production in Tobago.

This facility upgrade, she said, will help to enhance and ensure that all vendors produce and sell in ways that comply with food safety regulations, provide effective service to the public and allow market purchase options.