Planning minister chairs PoS revitalisation committee

PLANNING and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis chaired the first meeting of the Revitalisation of Port of Spain ministerial committee on Wednesday.

A media release said the other committee members are Minister of Housing and Urban Development Pennelope Beckles; Minister of Tourism Randall Mitchell; Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan; MP for PoS North/St Ann’s West Stuart Young; MP for PoS South Keith Scotland; and Udecott chairman Noel Garcia.

The revitalisation project will aim to establish the capital as a “premier location for commerce, culture and entertainment,” the release said.

Robinson-Regis told the committee the key objective is “to assess the different Port of Spain projects currently undertaken as well as those proposed by various ministries and entities to ensure feasibility, cohesion and the successful implementation as part of the overall plan for the revitalisation of TT’s capital city.”

The release said some of the projects already under way include redeveloping the Port of Spain General Hospital, upgrading the National Academy for the Performing Arts and expanding the Emperor Valley Zoo.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development also implemented an Urban Upgrading and Revitalisation Programme. The initiative was funded with a US$50 million loan by the Inter-American Development Bank, which, the release said, will be allocated toward the “urban regeneration in Port of Spain through the incorporation of green-building and infrastructure technologies and the strengthening of the housing sector.”

The inaugural committee meeting convened less than a month after the Prime Minister announced the revitalisation project on November 16.

Some of the proposed projects the committee will review include the Ministry of Tourism’s plan to transform Ariapita Avenue into an “economic and leisure zone.”

The release also said Mitchell proposed to develop Port of Spain as a “creative city of music.”

Robinson-Regis said the planning and implementation of the project will continue at the start of 2021.