Regrello: South the financial capital of TT

THE recent termination packages to over 5,000 former Petrotrin workers means there’s $2 billion in the southland ripe for investment, San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello said.

Newsday spoke with Regrello on Wednesday, when he attended the launch of Angostura’s third offering of its No. 1 Collection – a blend of premium rums aged nine months in special casks imported from Spain that were used to age Oloroso Sherry. Regrello called the southern city the “financial capital of the country,” suggesting that these former Petrotrin workers will now become entrepreneurs, looking for investments, new initiatives and innovations.

There will also be the added injections from people depositing money in banks and buying presents for Christmas. The money is there, he said, and people won’t necessarily be splurging, but there are opportunities.

“I’m of the view that money is going to circulate in San Fernando. Some will be taking risks, some will be looking for new ideas and new opportunities to invest,” he said.

San Fernando is on the cusp of major development, and Regrello pointed out that with the waterfront project for King’s Wharf due to start soon. “There will be opportunities for service providers across the board whether it be transportation, technical support, food, everything available, once its well thought out and carefully planned,” he said.

Regrello acknowledged there was reason for concern because of the number of people made redundant, and even though it might be scary to think about, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”