PM pleased with construction projects

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said on Monday he was pleased with construction projects in Tobago which are part of the island's development programme under the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (Udecott).

Rowley, speaking to reporters at the newly constructed Shirvan Road Police Station on Shirvan Road, the last stop on a tour of several projects also said he was pleased that Tobago contractors were involved with them.

“Much of the work is being done by Tobagonians, either subcontractors or as main contractors. that is an improvement of what there was before because there was a general view that Tobagonians cannot do these kind of things. I have seen very good work and I am very satisfied," he said.

Rowley, who has responsibility for Udecott, also described the Shirvan Road Police Station as the best sin the country, stating that the building has been designed to provide the best service for both officers and the public.

"We have the best juvenile section and it has facilities available for the different aspects of policing, including central command. As we improve the infrastructure in the country, we move from Old Grange Police station - what used to be an old four-bedroom house, to the Shirvan Road Police Station. We are going to use the same design in Carenage so we will save money, time and get the best of it. Before the station was built, the layout considered all that a station must have in a modern age."

Rowley also said he was pleased with construction works at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, which he noted were done by Tobago contractors.

" I am happy we are getting value for money in Tobago and the contractor working here will understand money is in short supply so when we put a contract out, we want to get value for money and we want to get it done in the way it's being done here."

The PM said he was most pleased with the construction of the Roxborough Administrative Complex where essential services would be provided for the people of east Tobago who would now no longer have to travel to Trinidad or Scarborough.

Rowley said the next major project for Tobago would be the construction of a prison but said there were some issues worth finding an appropriate site.