JCC president: Revitalisation blueprint could be difficult

PRESIDENT of the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) Fazir Khan has expressed scepticism that work could begin in the timeline given in government's revitalisation blueprint. But, he added, he remains hopeful.

At the launch of the blueprint on November 6, Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John said Expressions of Interest (EoI) were sent out that day and would remain open until January. She expects that Requests for Proposals (RFPs) will be evaluated by April, with work starting on some projects as early as August.

If things go according to plan, she said, the country would be "unrecognisable" by 2035.

"That seems rather ambitious. I hope for the sake of the country that is actually practically achievable and that all the provisions of the recent procurement legislation, including local content stipulations, are part of the RFPs," Khan told Newsday on Friday.

At the launch, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the government would work with the private sector but also declared TT was open for international investors and partnerships. While he welcomed this, Khan he said it may require some legislative adjustments.

"It's good news to know they're seeking public-private partnerships (PPP) and seeking foreign investment. The realisation of these things is going to be difficult and would require a lot of work, but it is what it is," the JCC head said.

He added: "I'm not sure if they intend to have government-to-government relationships with respect to projects, but that is not covered in the legislation. So one would have to look at those very carefully to see what would be the terms and conditions."

He believes the international partnerships may be needed for some of the projects, as they could fall outside local providers' capabilities. Despite this, he is confident in the ability of local companies.

"But our construction environment is a mature one so it wouldn't be the first time you have PPPs or have companies doing design, build, finance...that sort of thing. But that would be the bigger companies. In terms of the overall capacity of the country, I think from an industry perspective, I would say we have capacity, but the devil is always in the details."

He said the RFPs would shed more light as they would have all the critical details about the projects and the stipulations as required by law.

At the launch, Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs and Development Kennedy Swarathsingh said the government intends to establish a Priority Portal Desk to expedite the necessary approvals for projects over $50 million.

Khan said lengthy approval processes were a serious hindrance to development in TT, and was interested to see the legislative framework to improve the ease of doing business.