Gopee-Scoon: E-teck Phoenix Park an economic zone space for diversification

A NEW TT $688 million e-Teck park in Pheonix Park, Savonetta is expected to be the hub for diversification, in an area that has a major port, as the country’s economy recovers from the covid19 pandemic, said Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon

On Wednesday she, along with CEO of the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce Ian De Souza; CEO of the TT Manufacturers’ Association Ramesh Ramdeen and others, toured the site which is being constructed by Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG).

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the project was signed in 2018 and construction began in January 2020. It is being funded through a loan agreement with Export-Import Bank of the People’s Republic of China, while the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, applied for a loan of US $104,295,000.

Gopee-Scoon said it was a flagship project for the Government and was an effort to provide a first class economic space for several types of businesses such as manufacturing, logistics, distribution, ICT, biotechnology and new material technologies.

“In a post-covid19 era we really do have to shore up our non-energy side to ensure that there is not that kind of reliance on the energy sector, and providing the necessary economic space is one such way that we unleash the capital that is available in this country to get the private sector projects up and running.

“This dovetails nicely with the Special Economic Zones Authority because it provides the regulatory framework, it provides the incentives as well that will attract the investors, and ties in nicely with the investors.”

In January, the Special Economic Zones Bill 2021 was passed in Parliament and Gopee-Scoon said Cabinet was in the process of working on the regulations to be debated soon.

When the project was first launched, Gopee-Scoon said construction was expected to hire 60 per cent of the local labour force and use 50 per cent of locally-manufactured products.

She said the figures have exceeded the initial numbers to include 90 per cent local labour and 60 per cent use of local materials.

Gopee-Scoon said the provision of tenants will be overseen by InvesTT of which one such tenant, PriceSmart, was in the process of securing its space at the park.

“BCEG has committed TT $5 million to market the park in China, as it is our intention to at least have ten Chinese businesses in the park. There are a number of pipeline investors on the Chinese side and on the TT side.

“Even though this is a Government project and we are spending the money, to realise this objective is not going to be a reality without the private sector. They are the ones to bring it to reality and make sure we have businesses that are competitive and innovative. They are the ones that we are going to depend on to ensure that this project is truly a success.”

The project was scheduled to be completed by the end of May, but hiccups owing to weather conditions, and closures because of the pandemic, caused delays, Gopee-Scoon said.

The facility sits on over 150 acres of land, sub-divided into 78 leasable land lots all equipped with electricity, telecommunication, portable water supply and sewer collection, Duncan Daniel, vice president of projects and facilities at e-Teck said.

“The total area for the park is 144.9 acres, but we recently got Cabinet approval for an additional parcel of land just about 15 acres for retention which is part of our drainage system.

“Civil infrastructure included road networks, drainage system with retention ponds, fire hydrants, wastewater treatment plant, solar and LED street lighting, high-security fencing, electronic security surveillance, and access control system.”

After its completion, TT will have four eTeck parks — Frederick Settlement in Caroni, Tamana and Moruga.