Rohan: $1b PoS flood plan scrapped

A $1 billion loan to be used to alleviate flooding in Port of Spain could not be accessed because a prerequisite study on flooding in the capital was not up to scratch, said Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan yesterday.

He told that to the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives in reply to Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal why the ministry last year spent only $486,000 on flood mitigation out of an initial estimate of $8 million.

“There was a loan of US$135 million, which is almost $1 billion, and the draw-down would have started in 2015 to pay the staff to do the study.

“The IDB came in in 2016/2017 they failed the study, so that project would have been cancelled.”

He said that was why his ministry was now working with the Andean Development Bank to get a grant to create a new programme.

Some $2 million listed in budget 2020 recurrent expenditure for flood alleviation and drainage was just part of the money extended for the failed study from 2013-2016. “The study failed because after it was presented, the IDB indicated that study and proposal would not solve the problem of flooding in down town Port of Spain.” Sinanan said the problem was too slow a run-off after flash-flooding, and spelt out a new short-term plan. Saying the ministry has cleaned all underground drains, he said,

“Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be commissioning two brand new pumps that we feel will help us with a quick run off.”

If that works, the programme will be extended in the short term, pending a longer-term plan.