Imbert: $2b for Tobago development, not $200m

FINANCE minister Colm Imbert has said the total allocation for capital development in Tobago was $2 billion.

He was speaking on Thursday at the Finance Ministry's Spotlight on Budget 2020 at the Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain.

He said after the 2019/2020 budget presentation, one commentator complained the allocation for capital development in Tobago was only $200 million. Imbert said, however, the cost of the new airport terminal in Tobago is $870 million.

"That alone is almost five times the development programme allocation for Tobago. And it tells me that when people want to make criticisms, they do not deal with reality."

He said the budget documents showed other state agencies such as WASA would be spending almost $1 billion in capital expenditure in Tobago in this fiscal year. He added the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) will be granted $230 million and for the first time ever in the history of TT, the assembly was given the capacity to borrow $300 million for capital development projects.

"So when you add all that up – a billion dollars from other agencies, $200 million to the THA directly, $300 million loan approval – that's $1.5 billion. And then add in the airport: you cross $2 billion.

"So that the capital injection in terms of physical development for the coming year will be $2 billion, ten times the numbers that I am hearing from some of the critics."

He said construction on the airport terminal is expected to begin next March and in the interim the existing terminal will be upgraded within the next six months to improve passenger facilities.

Imbert also said the Apple Leisure Group has expressed tremendous interest in operating the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort and the operator being liaised with told him on three different occasions he had tried to get involved with the Magdalena, but with no success.

Imbert said he asked the operator how the group compared to Sandals (which pulled out from a planned resort in Tobago in January) and he replied, "We bigger than Sandals."

He said if an agreement is reached with Apple Leisure Group, the largest charter airline operator in the US, it will be "tremendous" for tourism in Tobago.