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Offline Deeks

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Re: Bridge to Tobago a good option
« Reply #60 on: October 18, 2017, 11:33:21 AM »
Impressive. Very impressive. But a ferry from Toco to S'Boro is the best option.

Offline Bourbon

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Re: Bridge to Tobago a good option
« Reply #61 on: October 18, 2017, 12:15:20 PM »
I would be skeptical about a bridge for the simple reason that it requires long term planning...maturity and foresight.
That Chinese bridge started in 2009....basically straddling two elections and potentially two governments. AT 15 Billion the funding would either need to be in the form of a loan and such...and depending on who did it and when.....would have another  set of row.

If it is done then it absolutely has to be a toll bridge. Then the water is another issue....I've heard the sea floor is another concern due to the plate margins.
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Offline Deeks

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Re: Bridge to Tobago a good option
« Reply #62 on: October 18, 2017, 05:11:12 PM »
I presume that is 15 billion US. That is a lot of money. There are so many things that can be done with that kind of money, especially right now. The Chinese can do anything(beneficial or not) because it is a totalitarian country. Look at the opposition to the rapid rail in TT. Granted the PNM screwed that up themselves.  In China, is off with your head, if you oppose govt policy. But it is damn impressive, I must say. But getting back to the ferry from Toco to S'Boro. 30 mins at least in good weather using a fast ferry. Building roads to Toco, a new port in Toco , improving the port in S'Boro, and acquiring 4 fast ferry may cost, maybe a, 2 to 3 billion. I think I am going overbudget here.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2017, 05:24:44 PM by Deeks »

Offline soccerman

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Re: Bridge to Tobago a good option
« Reply #63 on: October 18, 2017, 08:39:09 PM »
I think our population is too small for that type of infrastructure, how many people will use it on a daily basis where we the revenue from the tolls will be worthwhile? Like Deeks said for that significant cost and state of the economy, there's a lot more pressing areas we can invest in.

Offline Flex

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #64 on: March 23, 2018, 09:25:38 AM »
Cabinet gives green light for new $500 million Tobago airport terminal
cnc3.co.tt


Finance Minister Clm Imbert has announced that the Cabinet has agreed to begin the construction of a new terminal building for the ANR Robinson Airport in Tobago, by the end of this year.

It's expected to cost $500 million, but the acquisition of property is not included in that figure.

He made the announcement at today's post-Cabinet media conference.

While the current terminal building is located at the start of the runway, the new terminal will be located at the end of the runway.

Minister Imbert told the media that a new road will be built to connect Shirvan Road to the Claude Noel highway, to allow for easy access to all.

Work will also be done to ensure that the airport can access wide-bodied aircraft.

The construction will be done via a Build-Own-Lease-Transfer (BOLT) arrangement.

Minister Imbert said the deadline for awarding the contract will be around August 2018 and the construction must begin by the end of 2018.

The new airport terminal is expected to be completed before the end of the year 2019.

"We expect when this is finished, something long overdue in Tobago for many years will become a reality," the minister said.

"So many years, so many governments have spoken about a new terminal for Tobago. Well, this govt is going to do it," he ended.

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Offline Flex

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #65 on: March 24, 2018, 04:43:30 AM »
Seabridge woes cost Tobago businesses $750m.
By Rosemarie Sant (Guardian).


In the past year, Tobago businesses have suffered over $750 million in losses and the country has spent millions of dollars to fix the seabridge problem. But as of today the crisis continues and now, businesses are saying without a Government bailout or some sort of assistance there is no hope of recovery.

Business owners in Tobago yesterday told the T&T Guardian they now face the opposite problem to what they did in the period May to July last year. Back then they had problems getting goods to stock their shelves and some shelves were empty, but today they say their shelves are stocked “but the customers are just not there.”

Supermarket owners said “goods are now expiring on our hands.” In addition, they say it now makes no sense stocking freezers with meats and other cold products and warehouses are stocked with goods that are not being sold.

Business owners said the estimated $750 million in losses excludes businesses forced to close their doors or repossessed by the banks.

Scores of workers have also been sent home and with a growing unemployment and crime on the island, business owners say the time has come for Government “to step up to the plate.”

Several business owners said they are hoping Government will come up with a “viable bailout plan and get us back our credit rating because they have destroyed our credit rating.” They are advocating “compensation for losses suffered,” because they claim the banks are not extending any facilities to the business community and people continue to get foreclosure notices. They added that their credit rating is gone, they are “no longer bankable,” they are now experiencing a credit crunch and things continue to “look bleak because the economy has totally contracted.”

Even the conglomerates are affected.

ANSA McAL Group of Companies deputy chairman Andrew Sabga told the group’s annual stockbrokers meeting on Thursday, “The big problem is demand has significantly curbed because people are having problems getting to and from Tobago.”

Sabga said a “large portion of the consumption is tourists and non-Tobagonian arrivals.”

But despite the losses suffered by the Tobago business community, Tobago East Member of Parliament Ayanna Webster-Roy insisted in Parliament that all was well.

However, bed and breakfast owners say their businesses have declined and Hotel and Tourism Association president Chris James says Tobago had suffered massively and he expects the low occupancy levels which have plagued the island’s hotel sector to continue.

Newly-appointed Tobago Chamber chairman Claude Benoit said he was saddened by the situation, noting it had destroyed the confidence of people in Tobago.

“There is no credibility, people are not even thinking of coming to Tobago because they don’t know how they will get back and vice versa. The question is how long will it take to build back confidence in the system that they have destroyed? That is the main issue,” Benoit said.

Benoit said restoring confidence in the Tobago economy is “what will start to spur the economy for things to start happening. It is very serious and when you listen to others who say there are no problems in Tobago I don’t know.”

He said the Chamber had agreed to set up a team with the Tobago House of Assembly to help address the problems faced by the business community on the island. A report presented by economist Vanus James, he said, recommended that “we work with the THA and talk to the Minister of Finance to come up with the necessary funding to help the businesses.”

With banks no longer assisting businesses, he admitted there is an “urgency to the situation.”

As to the T&T Spirit not returning to the seabridge as promised yesterday, Benoit said he found it “alarming.”

“We are just hoping that those who are responsible just do their work and do it well so it could save the island going further down. Because can you imagine this now being Easter, this is one of the biggest holidays for the island and we don’t have a ferry to bring people here? It’s a very sad situation.”

Owner of Penny Savers Supermarkets Lloyd Warner said as a citizen, what has happened in the last year with the seabridge is an “insult for every Tobagonian, that’s an insult as far as I am concerned, treating people like this.”

He said the pain of what has happened is “so severe” that it needs to be dealt with immediately, “because I personally cannot look further than what is happening right now. Because that is the main thing.”

Warner said the seabridge was the “lifeline for Tobago, it is like someone telling you they will block off your nose and tell you to breathe, it is the main thing that is life.”

Responding to Webster-Roy’s position that no one in Tobago is suffering, Warner said, “Because we don’t protest by burning tyres and saying enough is enough, that says we are not suffering?”

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Offline maxg

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #66 on: May 23, 2018, 11:25:06 PM »
I need a quick Geography or Nautical lesson please. Or maybe I miss some info.

"THE Galleons Passage made it through the Panama Canal yesterday and began heading for Santiago de Cuba, but with heavy rainclouds hanging over it and fears that it might get caught smack bang in the middle of a developing storm in the Caribbean Sea.......Satellite tracking saw the boat at 6.30 am yesterday exiting the canal, then moving along the coast of Cacique, Colombia. It will sail for the next four days to get to Santiago, on the southeastern coast of Cuba.
.....
The Meteorological Office at Piarco confirmed the pattern of what is described as “bad weather” when the Galleons Passage passes between Jamaica and Haiti en route to Santiago de Cuba. However, it said there was a likelihood of the wind blowing northwards and the boat is likely to avoid most of the weather systems
"

This boat come thru the Panama Canal.Along the coast of Colombia (where is Cacique anyway). Heading to Trinidad & Tobago. Why is it sailing North, past Jamaica to Cuba ? Instead of North East then east to T&T ? Is the next stop New York ?

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #67 on: May 24, 2018, 05:28:23 AM »
I need a quick Geography or Nautical lesson please. Or maybe I miss some info.

"THE Galleons Passage made it through the Panama Canal yesterday and began heading for Santiago de Cuba, but with heavy rainclouds hanging over it and fears that it might get caught smack bang in the middle of a developing storm in the Caribbean Sea.......Satellite tracking saw the boat at 6.30 am yesterday exiting the canal, then moving along the coast of Cacique, Colombia. It will sail for the next four days to get to Santiago, on the southeastern coast of Cuba.
.....
The Meteorological Office at Piarco confirmed the pattern of what is described as “bad weather” when the Galleons Passage passes between Jamaica and Haiti en route to Santiago de Cuba. However, it said there was a likelihood of the wind blowing northwards and the boat is likely to avoid most of the weather systems
"

This boat come thru the Panama Canal.Along the coast of Colombia (where is Cacique anyway). Heading to Trinidad & Tobago. Why is it sailing North, past Jamaica to Cuba ? Instead of North East then east to T&T ? Is the next stop New York ?

The ferry is due to undertake some work in Cuba before reaching here.  Not sure why Cuba was chosen to undertake the work but that's what was stated by the Ministry.   
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Offline Deeks

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #68 on: May 24, 2018, 05:35:11 AM »
I hope while on the way to TT, it do not make a detour to pick up any foreign substances. I still think this a lot of bullshit. They should develop Toco. widen the friggin road. Build a port in Toco. All the money spent on them boat could have been used for that. From Scarboro to Toco is how much friggin miles.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 05:37:54 AM by Deeks »

Offline maxg

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #69 on: May 24, 2018, 06:15:47 AM »
After such a long trip, ah lil R&R in order, that an a lil opposite sex boat, might make ah baby boat that may work our channel. On a serious note, we need to build and maintain our own ships, hire some ship builders to teach, we have engineers, we have  welders, we have people.. dare we only capable of making pans ? Do we build and make stuff other than pepper sauce - yeah, yeah, is borse . We richer, yet we poorer. We modern, yet we ancient. We capable and fit, yet inefficient . What really is TT story.
Ah Ukraine crew on a Chinese boat, maintenance in Cuba. Ok.
Who operates the boat locally, who maintains, ah Nordic crew ? .. since this one getting about 20,000 between T&T trips out it system putt-putting round the Caribbean, by the time we actually make ah nudda 10000 between T&T, we go just buy another one ?

Offline maxg

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #70 on: June 20, 2018, 08:44:32 PM »
Putt Putt Putt Putt Putt
http://www.looptt.com/content/govt-takes-decision-bring-galleons-passage-tt-immediately

then Sput Sput Sputt Sputte Sputter.., when probably hear then about a misunderstood clause in the contract..Good Luck T &T

Offline maxg

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #71 on: September 02, 2018, 01:02:45 PM »
« Last Edit: September 02, 2018, 01:06:21 PM by maxg »

Offline maxg

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #72 on: September 16, 2018, 10:13:41 AM »
After such a long trip, ah lil R&R in order, that an a lil opposite sex boat, might make ah baby boat that may work our channel. On a serious note, we need to build and maintain our own ships, hire some ship builders to teach, we have engineers, we have  welders, we have people.. dare we only capable of making pans ? Do we build and make stuff other than pepper sauce - yeah, yeah, is borse . We richer, yet we poorer. We modern, yet we ancient. We capable and fit, yet inefficient . What really is TT story.
Ah Ukraine crew on a Chinese boat, maintenance in Cuba. Ok.
Who operates the boat locally, who maintains, ah Nordic crew ? .. since this one getting about 20,000 between T&T trips out it system putt-putting round the Caribbean, by the time we actually make ah nudda 10000 between T&T, we go just buy another one ?


Purchase and all that running around the world..and now we doing test ?

 Galleons makes 2nd run to Tobago
Kinnesha George


Herbert George, chairman of the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) is convinced that there is still some fine-tuning to be done before the Galleons Passage is put into service.

Yesterday, NIDCO officials sailed aboard the vessel to Tobago in what was considered its second test run to the island. The vessel departed Port of Spain at 7.41 am and arrived in Scarborough at 11.46 am.

For close to 45 minutes, the team aboard the vessel remained on the inside as Sunday Newsday observed officials attempting to get the ramp to line up with the ramp at the port compound.

Speaking with Sunday Newsday as he disembarked, George described the trial run was a success.

“I’m quite comfortable… as far as the vessel everything is fine.

“The ramp though, we have some tweaking to do to make it fit for all seasons; be it high tide or low tide, so we would be doing that in the next week and hopefully during that time we would be getting the necessary certificates and so from the Marine Services Department to be able to sail the vessel with passengers,” he said.

George said, as far as the mechanical functioning of the vessel, there were no problems as it was a smooth sailing to Tobago.

“We have some tweaking to do. As far as this ramp is concerned, we are going to make it wider so that the vessel can berth there much easier than it did today. Although today was a learning experience, I think we can make some adjustments and have it much easier,” he said. Members of the media were then invited inside for a tour of the vessel. Upon entering the vehicle ramp, George indicated that there were plans to install a canopy in that section, so as to prevent the sea spray from coming in onto the vehicles.

“The seller is responsible for that installation, he has had a lot of difficulties to get a vendor to do that work for him, he has gotten someone from Canada, they came and took the measurements and they have gone to fabricate the canopy to install it. They said the next three or so weeks, they would come with the material to have it installed,” he said.

George noted, however, that the installation would not delay the sailing of the vessel on the inter-island route.

As the team proceeded to the top deck, George said that the vessel would accommodate approximately 475 passengers in the first instance as the sun deck would not be used. He said NIDCO would continue to own and maintain the vessel, while it would be wet leased to the Port Authority.

George also touched on maintenance. “NIDCO has some capacity to maintain vessels, we have been doing that with the water taxis, but we recognise that this is not merely enough. So as part of the arrangement, we went out and we got an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and another kind of a maintenance manager to come in and he would set up the structure to maintain not only this one but all the vessels under NIDCO’s purview.

Offline Deeks

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #73 on: September 17, 2018, 08:06:37 AM »
So as part of the arrangement, we went out and we got an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and another kind of a maintenance manager to come in and he would set up the structure to maintain not only this one but all the vessels under NIDCO’s purview.”

It hard to be believe a country like TT don't have them kind of engineers.

Offline maxg

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #74 on: September 24, 2018, 04:57:14 PM »
So as part of the arrangement, we went out and we got an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and another kind of a maintenance manager to come in and he would set up the structure to maintain not only this one but all the vessels under NIDCO’s purview.”

It hard to be believe a country like TT don't have them kind of engineers.
Worse...engineer hardly do hands on these days, they mostly design and advise, so we have to go out and get some marine craft technichians as well. We couldn't go out and get One Marine engineer and hire enough young local technicians, that they will learn and develop along with the boats (old and new). Wait, I feel it have more expenses to come, irregardless of the new boat. Maybe they should go out and get a  Marine accountant...no, wait, he might ketch we putting we hands in the till...best get a local padna to do that, oui  :D
 

Offline maxg

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #75 on: September 25, 2018, 10:34:20 PM »
 :whistling: :whistling:


Duke: My pirogue will beat Galleons Passage ferry

Sean Douglas (Newsday)



WATSON DUKE will race a pirogue from Tobago to Trinidad to prove it can beat the ferry Galleons Passage, he vowed at a briefing yesterday.

The Public Services Association (PSA) leader was joined by maritime attorney Nyree Alfonso and dockers' unionist Michael Annisette.

In the wake of his famous partial swim from Tobago to Trinidad, Duke said in the ferry’s first week of service, he will travel by pirogue, change his clothes, then host a news briefing.

“We’ll show that a pirogue can travel the same route and reach faster than the Galleons Passage.”

Duke dubbed the ferry “a slow boat” travelling at 11 knots and taking six hours, slower than the current ferries Spirit and Express, which reach 30 knots and take 3.5 hours. He scoffed that rather than the buy the Galleons Passage, the Government should have spent those millions of dollars to buy pirogues for Tobagonians to travel to Trinidad.

Duke alleged the Government had changed its tune on the Galleons Passage’s specs: it was originally said to take 700 passengers and 100 cars, but now said to take just 400 passengers and no cars.

He alleged that for political reasons the Government had raced the boat to Tobago at a dangerously high speed of 22 knots, to do the trip in 4.5 hours.

Saying Tobagonians are not happy with the Tobago-born Prime Minister, Duke said, “You’ll get a surprise licking come 2020, because this (issue) is not going away.”

Alfonso scoffed at the government’s litigation against her as an effort to muzzle her that is doomed to fail and would in fact make her a wealthy attorney.

She alleged thee had no proper procurement of ferries in recent times, and alleged the Cabo Star should have been leased for about US$12,000 per day, but TT was overpaying this cost by US$10,000. She found it astounding Dr Rowley could just walk into a shipyard in Australia and start ordering ferries, as she challenged his maritime expertise to do so and whether he had first consulted local ferry users.

Alfonso also lamented that vessels from both shipbuilders Incat and Austal will be ordered, as this would incur two different sets of spare parts and technicians.

She asked which TT expert had visited China to okay the Galleons Passage as suitable for here. Alleging unsuitability for heavy seas, she said Austal vessels work in seas with a sea scale of five, but TT waters are sea scale six.

Alfonso said all six Coast Guard vessels bought by this government are now down.

She alleged TT is paying much more to lease its water taxis than Martinique and Guadeloupe paid for similar boats . Saying the Prime Minister had spoken of corruption around the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower II, she asked what had been done about this.

“One manager went to Panama and said, ‘This boat is not suitable,’ and he was fired for his candour.”

Alfonso accused the government of ignoring the need for the right specs for the new ferry but just rushing to get one before the next general election.


Offline maxg

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #76 on: December 06, 2018, 12:56:26 AM »
more test necessary, send it back to China, via Cuba, via Panama canal..etc..etc..Tobago to damn far..Lawd..I know it was coming, but sonner than later smh

http://guardian.co.tt/news/galleons-passage-6.2.730837.dae32d134c

Offline Flex

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #77 on: January 20, 2019, 01:43:17 AM »
Sandals’ pullout could be positive.
By Loyse Vin­cent (Guardian).


An ex­pert in tourism in­tel­li­gence and de­vel­op­ment says the failed San­dals deal can be an op­por­tu­ni­ty to change this coun­try’s ap­proach to tourism.

Dr Au­liana Poon, Man­ag­ing Di­rec­tor of Tourism In­tel­li­gence In­ter­na­tion­al, a lead­ing in­ter­na­tion­al con­sul­tan­cy that has been op­er­at­ing for more than 25 years, said To­ba­go’s tourism stake­hold­ers must let the world know “the is­land is open for busi­ness, but per­haps not open to San­dals busi­ness and not in that for­mat.”

Tourism In­tel­li­gence In­ter­na­tion­al re­cent­ly beat more than 20 com­peti­tors to land the con­tract to de­vel­op Do­mini­ca’s Na­tion­al Tourism Pol­i­cy and Tourism Mas­ter Plan. The com­pa­ny con­tributed to the de­vel­op­ment of more than 100 des­ti­na­tions, in­clud­ing Abu Dhabi, An­tigua and Bar­bu­da, Aus­tralia, the Ba­hamas, Bar­ba­dos, Benin, Den­mark, Fin­land, Ger­many, Greece and Hong Kong.

“When San­dals talks about the neg­a­tive press for some peo­ple its neg­a­tive press, but the in­de­pen­dent trav­eller is hap­py that an in­de­pen­dent des­ti­na­tion is con­cerned about its en­vi­ron­ment . . . (and) wants to have trans­paren­cy,” Poon said.

She said such trav­ellers “would love to come to a coun­try where peo­ple have a voice and have a say. So I say it’s( ex­treme­ly pos­i­tive de­pend­ing on how you look at it.”

Poon, who runs Vil­la Be­ing, a high-end tourism re­sort in To­ba­go, said of the 1.5 bil­lion trav­ellers glob­al­ly, on­ly two per cent trav­el to the Caribbean. If the des­ti­na­tion could at­tract 100,000 of the 1.5 bil­lion peo­ple who are more con­scious and ed­u­cat­ed, those trav­ellers would be in­ter­est­ed that To­ba­go is con­cerned about the en­vi­ron­ment, she said.

She al­so said To­ba­go might not have been ready for a project of the mag­ni­tude pro­posed by the Gov­ern­ment and San­dals.

“We need to re­think the strat­e­gy of just build­ing the stuff and let­ting some­body else come to man­age it. The re­al mon­ey is in the man­age­ment. Do we have the man­age­ment ca­pa­bil­i­ties to run it?” Poon asked.

She sug­gest­ed that the Caribbean send stu­dents to the top uni­ver­si­ties in Switzer­land to study ho­tel man­age­ment so that they can re­turn to man­age the is­lands’re­sources.

Ac­cord­ing to Poon, San­dals might not have been what To­ba­go need­ed at this point.

“Club Med in­vent­ed this hol­i­day where peo­ple de­scend­ed on this vil­lage for sun, sand, sea and sex and what have you but where is Club Med to­day? Club Med had its day,” she said.

“The point I’m mak­ing is San­dals had 30 to 40 years of fan­tas­tic growth and de­vel­op­ment. I’m ask­ing is this the end of the life cy­cle we jump­ing on to? Is it that To­ba­go is now try­ing to per­fect the pro­duc­tion of type­writ­ers when every­body wants a com­put­er? Is this the end of the line? Is this on­ly thing? What is com­ing af­ter that?”

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Offline Flex

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #78 on: February 10, 2019, 01:45:07 AM »
Silent majority wanted Sandals
By Corey Connelly (Newsday).


Tobago advocacy group on resort pullout

Farmers and small entrepreneurs were among the groups of Tobagonians eager to welcome Sandals International to Tobago before the resort chain decided last month against constructing a deluxe hotel on the island.

So claimed Kelvon Morris, spokesman of the newly-formed advocacy group Citizens In Support of Tobago Development.

"You would be surprised to hear the number of people that actually had projects in train geared towards benefiting from the Sandals experience," Morris said in a Sunday Newsday interview.

"Farmers, people invested in hatchery preparing for it. It is interesting when you go on the ground, people were excited about some of the activities that would have come from Sandals."

Saying he was surprised by the number of people who were excited about the project, Morris said the Sandals pullout highlighted the fact that many Tobagonians were not vociferous in their support of the project but chose to remain silent.

"We recognise that that silence would have been one of the reasons why the naysayers' voices were heard. But if you do a survey around Tobago, the majority of Tobagonians really wanted the project."

Morris admitted, however, a comprehensive survey was not undertaken to determine the extent to which Tobagonians supported the project. He said feedback was gauged "on the ground."

So why did he feel Tobagonians choose to remain silent?

"Tobagonians are naturally paid back. We are very reserved and normally keep most of our thoughts to ourselves. So, you would hear things and say, 'Why are Tobagonians not riling up?'

"They would have a view but would prefer to keep it to themselves."

Asked, then, if this posture would have worked against them if Sandals did set up business on the island, Morris said: "Behaviour once repeated often enough, tends to be changed. So, with Sandals, which is service-oriented, it would have brought that culture to the entire scenario."

He claimed those in the agriculture sector were ready to "change their mentality" with a view to embracing modern technology in farming.

During a news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, on January 15, Sandals Resort International CEO Gebhard Rainer said the company was no longer interested in constructing a hotel in Buccoo.

Rainer said the decision was prompted by "negative publicity" and "consistent badgering."

Sceptics also complained Government was not forthcoming in providing details about the project, especially in relation to its potential impact on the environment.

Morris, who works in the tourism sector, agreed negative publicity did play a part in the company's decision to sever ties with the project.

"When one wants to disrupt any kind of development, we know that the environment is the easiest claim and the voices that started to put up those kinds of challenges, with Sandals being an international, reputable brand, would not want to be tied up with that."

He added: "It was the posture of all those who were actually laying claim to challenging Sandals. I am sure they made a business decision that said they were not going to go through all that for a destination they hadn't been tried and tested in."

Morris said Citizens In Support of Tobago Development was essentially a response to the failure of Tobagonians to speak out about the benefits that could have been derived from a Sandals on the island.

"This (group) is really a clarion call to all that when there are positive developments on the island, that we all come out in support as early as possible so that we don't lose opportunities like that."

The group, comprising stakeholders from various sectors, includes former Tobago Chamber of Commerce president Demi John Cruickshank and others.

Morris said forging linkages with stakeholders was of paramount importance.

"One of the things we are looking to do going forward is really bringing together all of the stakeholders. We think that is important for the development of the island, so that when we speak about Tobago's development, we speak in one voice.

"Every institution that is integral to Tobago's development, so we would form alliances and have them involved in the discussion."

He said one of the group's priorities would be to hold discussions with youth-oriented organisations and other bodies "so that we can have a meshing of views and really have a clear synergy of where we want to go from here."

Saying Tobago has tremendous potential, Morris expressed confidence the island will bounce back from the Sandals pullout.

Morris said: "Tobago is an island destination with some of the best sites in the western hemisphere and it is just a matter for Tobagonians to be a little more open-minded to the kind of development required so we could move the tourism product forward."

"There is always an opportunity because people are always interested in the next best thing and Tobago provides that platform. In terms of direct foreign investment Tobago will always be attractive," he added.

During the launch of her Monday Mixer series at Milford Court, Bon Accord, Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe declared she was "hard hit" by the Sandals withdrawal from the project, which would have elevated the island's profile as a tourist destination.

She said, however, there were several projects already on stream, geared toward boosting the island's tourist sector.

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #79 on: February 11, 2019, 03:37:13 PM »
We always have projects on stream that usually come to no avail. Sandals withdrawing is a big loss to our economy, it would've definitely increased our tourism profile and locals would've benefited. I've met a lot of people to claim they'll love to visit T&T but the reality is many of them had already been at Sandals in Jamaica or St. Lucia and I think their reputation and convenience for travelers has a lot to do with it.

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #80 on: February 24, 2019, 01:04:26 AM »
Imbert: Tobago airport project ‘well under way’
By Julien Neaves (Newsday).


FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert says the ANR Robinson International Airport terminal project is "well under way."

He was responding to a question in the House on Friday on whether the proposed construction of a new terminal building at the airport will progress in light of the collapse of the Sandals Resort project in Tobago.

Imbert said the construction of a new terminal and associated works at the airport in Tobago was never contingent on the Sandals project.

"This PNM Government clearly stated in its 2015 manifesto that the construction of a new world-class international airport in Tobago would be one of its priority projects. This has also been presented in our 2030 vision for the national development strategy for TT and was approved in this honourable House and in the other place since 2017."

He said with the increase in the number of international flights and passengers it became evident the existing terminal, constructed in 1953 which was last upgraded in the 1980s and then modified in 2016, had been outgrown by the international traffic and did not meet all necessary international aviation standards.

"As a responsible and futuristic government we are going to build the new modern state-of-the-art terminal with a capacity of three million passengers in its first phase of development."

He said the current terminal will be upgraded to existing service level and expand cargo operations. Imbert reported the request for proposals for the building contractor, the main contractor, will close in the first week of March. He also reported the land acquisition consultants and cadastral surveyors were already hard at work and financing was being sourced from the Andean Development Bank CAF as an optional source of funding.

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #81 on: March 01, 2019, 05:16:40 AM »
Canada flight boosts arrivals by 90 per cent
By Elizabeth Gonzales (Newsday).


THE Tobago Tourism Agency is reporting a 90 per cent increase in international arrivals over the past few months, owing to the weekly Sunwing Airlines flights. This has resulted in a 5.2 per cent growth of international arrivals to Tobago from December 2018 to January 2019.

In a release on Wednesday, the agency said between January 1 and February 21 Sunwing recorded a flight capacity of over 90 per cent on its Toronto, Canada flights. Sunwing’s Boeing 737, which has a capacity of 189 passengers, has since made ten trips to Tobago since its initial flight from the Toronto Pearson International Airport to the ANR Robinson Airport in December last year.

The agency said, “The airline is responsible for bringing 1,399 passengers to Tobago with an average flight capacity of 74 per cent. The airline also has an excellent stay over ratio with an average of 94 per cent or 1,315 passengers staying over on the island. In January, 522 visitors from the Sunwing flight stayed in tourism accommodations on the island and had an average length of stay of nine days.”

However, Chris James, president of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, which represents over 1,000 rooms throughout Tobago, said the visitor arrivals in 2019 have not improved. He told Newsday for the first two months of 2019 it has seen a slight increase in international arrivals, mainly because of Sunwing flight from Toronto, Canada. The association also reported a continuous decline in domestic arrivals.

James said, “19,400 visitor arrivals were reported in 2017, the figures in 2018 are approximately the same.”

He added, “The average occupancy for hotels in 2018 was 30 per cent and guest houses 23 per cent, it is too early to say what the average will be for the whole year of 2019. For January and February 2019, the average occupancy for hotels is 37 per cent and guest houses 22 per cent, which is similar to the first two months of 2018.”

The island welcomed 29 cruise ship calls for the 2019 season; this is 27 less than last year which stood at 56 cruise ship visits, Newsday was told. Chris said the increase in cruise ship arrivals last year was exclusively because of the damages to other islands caused by the hurricane disaster.

Although he was unable to give figures for Easter and Tobago Jazz Experience seasons, he reported a slight pick-up after Carnival. He said this increase after Carnival depends on the availability of the air and seabridge.

Some members of the hotel association told Newsday the association is concerned that there is no representation for it on the tourism agency board. The members also complained they were not given the opportunity to be actively involved in agency’s decision making. They also expressed disapproval with the operations of the agency since it was established 18 months ago.

James said, “Yes, I have heard the comments as well, it is true we have had much less collaboration, interaction than we had with TDC (Tourism Development Company) or TIDCO (Tourism and Industrial Development Company) but we do speak to the CEO (Louis Lewis) of TTA.”

“The agency is not working with us as we would have wished, but we are where we are, we will continue to work on behalf of our members as best we can; we as an association have our own marketing campaigns through our marketing committee, we are getting ready to launch our tourism enhancement fund so that we can increase our own marketing initiatives.”

The hotel association is waiting on a meeting with the tourism agency for an update on what the agency has achieved through its Road Map to Growth arrangement. The roadmap was presented in May 2018.

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #82 on: April 02, 2019, 12:24:21 AM »
Malta ferry gets nod for seabridge.
By Renuka Singh (Guardian).


The pro­pos­al for the lease of the Jean De La Valette (JDLV) as a tem­po­rary in­ter-is­land fer­ry to ease up the seabridge woes is al­ready be­fore Cab­i­net.

Dur­ing an in­ter­view with Guardian Me­dia last Fri­day, Trans­port Min­is­ter Ro­han Sinanan said the new ves­sel, cur­rent­ly sched­uled to ar­rive by the end of May, will re­place the limp­ing T&T Ex­press, which Gov­ern­ment plans to sell, un­til two new fer­ries ar­rive in T&T next year. How­ev­er, he dis­missed sug­ges­tions this news was new, adding he had raised it in Par­lia­ment ‘about a month ago’.

Yes­ter­day, Na­tion­al In­fra­struc­ture De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny of T&T (Nid­co) chair­man Her­bert George con­firmed that Nid­co had rec­om­mend­ed the tem­po­rary lease of the ten-year old Jean De La Valette, sourced from Mal­ta, to ser­vice the seabridge be­tween Trinidad and To­ba­go and the is­sue was still be­fore Cab­i­net.

Guardian Me­dia re­ceived two doc­u­ments yes­ter­day, in­clud­ing the ten-page rec­om­men­da­tion made by Nid­co to lease the ves­sel and a let­ter from Port Au­thor­i­ty chair­man Lyle Alexan­der in­form­ing Sinanan that he was ac­com­pa­ny­ing George to Mal­ta to check out the char­ter-hire ves­sel.

Ac­cord­ing to the let­ter, both George and Alexan­der were in Mal­ta be­tween Feb­ru­ary 23 and March 2, 2019, to check out the Jean De La Valette.

Ac­cord­ing to the Nid­co rec­om­men­da­tion, it held an “open in­ter­na­tion­al ten­der­ing” process and re­ceived pro­pos­als from three com­pa­nies.

“The sub­mis­sion from Vir­tu Fer­ries was ad­judged the best in terms of age of ves­sel, speed and pay­load RoPax (roll on/roll off pas­sen­ger) ca­pac­i­ty,” Nid­co said.

Ac­cord­ing to the rec­om­men­da­tion, the JDLV was dry-docked on March 10 and “this will al­so fa­cil­i­tate its prepa­ra­tion for de­liv­ery to Trinidad for the time char­ter.”

The fer­ry, once re­tained by Nid­co, will be main­tained and crewed by Mal­ta.

“Vir­tu Fer­ries has quot­ed their dai­ly char­ter rate in terms of a 12-hour work day, be­yond which over­time pay­ments will ac­crue. We sought clar­i­fi­ca­tion on this ba­sis of charg­ing, since the present sched­ul­ing of the seabridge will re­sult in a longer than 12-hour work day for the crew,” the Nid­co let­ter stat­ed.

“The time char­ter­er will work with Vir­tu Fer­ries to ho­n­our the 12-hour work day and is as­sured by Vir­tu Fer­ries of its flex­i­bil­i­ty and co­op­er­a­tion.”

The JDLV has an up­per deck that pro­vides gen­er­al ac­com­mo­da­tion to 680 of the 800 au­tho­rised pas­sen­ger car­ry­ing ca­pac­i­ty. The re­main­ing 120 pas­sen­gers can be ac­com­mo­dat­ed in the up­per bridge deck. The fer­ry will al­so not use the Trinidad and To­ba­go flag but will con­tin­ue to fly the Re­pub­lic of Mal­ta flag.

Ac­cord­ing to the doc­u­ment, the ten-year old ves­sel will be leased from Vir­tu Fer­ries for a pe­ri­od of one year, un­til the two new ves­sels from In­cat and Austal ar­rive to per­ma­nent­ly ser­vice the seabridge in 2020.

Al­though seabridge woes have not been in the news re­cent­ly, just one year ago it was a much dif­fer­ent sto­ry. Last year, in­ter-is­land trav­el was heav­i­ly de­pen­dent on the air­bridge be­cause sea trans­port was spo­radic. At one point last year, the PATT al­so used the wa­ter taxi to help ser­vice pas­sen­gers back and forth from Trinidad and To­ba­go un­til that boat shut down in the mid­dle of the is­lands on March 27, 2018. The ar­rival of the US$17.4 mil­lion Galleons Pas­sage boast­ed the ser­vice and Sinanan said Fri­day this ves­sel had been do­ing its job.

Seabridge woes

Jan­u­ary 25, 2017: In­ter­con­ti­nen­tal Ship­ping Ltd (IC­SL), own­ers of the Su­per Fast Gali­cia, an­nounce plans to with­draw the ves­sel from ser­vice on the seabridge.

April 21, 2017: The Su­per­fast Gali­cia leaves T&T with no re­place­ment ves­sel to fill the gap on the seabridge.

June 2017: The T&T Spir­it is dry docked leav­ing the T&T Ex­press as the on­ly pas­sen­ger fer­ry on the route

Ju­ly 1, 2017: The Cabo Star and Ocean Flower II are leased from Bridge­mans Ser­vice Group of Cana­da to pro­vide pas­sen­ger and car­go ser­vices on the seabridge

Au­gust 9, 2017: Con­tract with the Ocean Flower TT is can­celled.

Jan­u­ary 20, 2018: Fi­nance Min­is­ter Colm Im­bert an­nounces that Gov­ern­ment is tak­ing de­liv­ery of the new US$17.4 mil­lion cata­ma­ran Galleon’s Pas­sage, a ves­sel is owned by Sea Trans­port Cor­po­ra­tion of Aus­tralia and built at the Nan­sha Ship­yard in Guangzhou, Chi­na.

Feb­ru­ary 2018: The T&T Ex­press—the lone fast fer­ry op­er­at­ing on the sea bridge— is pulled from the route “in the in­ter­est of pub­lic safe­ty.”

Feb­ru­ary 27, 2018: Galleons Pas­sage sets sail from Bon­ny Fair Ship­yard in Nan­sha, Chi­na, en route to Hong Kong, then Hon­olu­lu, Pana­ma Canal, San­ti­a­go de Cu­ba and Port-of-Spain.

March 13-22, 2018: Port Au­thor­i­ty of T&T (PATT) makes arrange­ments with Caribbean Air­lines (CAL) to trans­port pas­sen­gers with con­firmed fer­ry tick­ets be­tween T&T.

April 2018: The T&T Spir­it re­turns to the seabridge.

May 29, 2018: Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley an­nounces that dur­ing his vis­its to Chi­na and Aus­tralia he met with Aus­tralian com­pa­nies IN­CAT and Austal to dis­cuss the pos­si­bil­i­ty of pur­chas­ing ves­sels.

Ju­ly, 2018: The Galleons Pas­sage ar­rives in Trinidad but is not put in­to ser­vice as it has to un­der­go some retro­fit­ting.

Oc­to­ber 2018: The Galleons Pas­sage be­gins op­er­at­ing on the seabridge.

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #83 on: April 02, 2019, 12:25:41 AM »
Tobago anxious about PM’s plan to fix economy.
By Camille McEachnie (Guardian).


Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley’s lat­est state­ments on his Gov­ern­ment’s steps to mend To­ba­go’s econ­o­my are caus­ing anx­i­ety among many stake­hold­ers on the is­land. How­ev­er, while they re­joiced at some of Gov­ern­ment’s plans yes­ter­day, they said the ma­jor­i­ty of the mea­sures do not ad­dress the sit­u­a­tion in the short term.

Over the last cou­ple of years, the is­land’s econ­o­my has faced chal­lenges, with the seabridge woes deep­en­ing the prob­lems.

In an in­ter­view on a wide range of top­ics with host Hema Ramkissoon on CNC3’s Morn­ing Brew yes­ter­day, Row­ley said To­ba­go’s econ­o­my is “plod­ding along...and the Gov­ern­ment is tak­ing steps to fix it.”

Ad­dress­ing the is­sues, he said the Gov­ern­ment is tak­ing steps to “gen­er­ate greater eco­nom­ic ac­tiv­i­ty” on the is­land by build­ing in­fra­struc­ture, im­prov­ing hu­man cap­i­tal and en­cour­ag­ing in­vest­ment in all sec­tors.

In an ob­vi­ous ref­er­ence to the failed San­dals Re­sorts deal and the need to at­tract more tourism to the is­land, Row­ley said: “Un­for­tu­nate­ly, one of the ac­tions we thought would have giv­en as­sis­tance as a stim­u­lant is no longer avail­able to us.”

Ad­dress­ing tourism-re­lat­ed is­sues fur­ther, he said Evolv­ing Tech­nolo­gies and En­ter­pris­es De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny Lim­it­ed (e Teck) is seek­ing to find a com­pa­ny to mar­ket the Mag­dale­na Grand Beach and Golf Re­sort “which is a mon­ey-los­ing ho­tel.”

“The Gov­ern­ment was ap­proached by a new com­pa­ny, the Sun­wing Com­pa­ny, which has its own air­lift and the THA (To­ba­go House of As­sem­bly) is out en­cour­ag­ing (busi­ness­es to in­vest),” the PM said.

How­ev­er, not­ing plans to ex­pand the ANR Robin­son In­ter­na­tion­al Air­port, he said the Gov­ern­ment needs is­landers to help bring about change in the econ­o­my.

“While we are work­ing to­wards that (ex­pan­sion of the ANR Robin­son’s In­ter­na­tion­al Air­port) I am see­ing dis­tur­bances and peo­ple say­ing they are or­gan­is­ing them­selves, po­lit­i­cal re­spons­es. We (To­bag­o­ni­ans) just have to be a lit­tle less can­tan­ker­ous.”

He al­so said the is­land’s sit­u­a­tion is not as bad as per­ceived.

“To­ba­go has Trinidad to start with, most oth­er Caribbean is­lands don’t have a big sis­ter with one mil­lion peo­ple. To­ba­go should start by en­cour­ag­ing Trinida­di­ans to use To­ba­go, for what To­ba­go is; a place for re­lax­ation, a place to in­vest.”

In an im­me­di­ate re­ac­tion, To­ba­go Ho­tel and Tourism As­so­ci­a­tion (TH­TA) pres­i­dent Chris James agreed with Row­ley that Trinidad is very im­por­tant to To­ba­go’s tourism in­dus­try.

“TH­TA al­so agrees that des­ti­na­tion mar­ket­ing is crit­i­cal and should be in­creased in both our do­mes­tic and in­ter­na­tion­al orig­i­nat­ing mar­kets,” James said.

He added: “The in­dus­try in To­ba­go is in a catch 22 sit­u­a­tion. We hear calls for the up­grad­ing of prod­uct but with such low ar­rivals and low oc­cu­pan­cy the mon­ey is just not avail­able for many to con­sid­er un­der­tak­ing more debt.”

He said Caribbean Air­lines (CAL) is do­ing its best to help but the TH­TA was “ea­ger­ly await­ing the an­nounce­ment of the wet lease for the air­bridge.”

In 2017, James told mem­bers of a Joint Se­lect Com­mit­tee (JSC) that staff in the tourism in­dus­try were work­ing three-day work shifts and many tourism stake­hold­ers could not pay their bills. Last year, the tourism sec­tor - the is­land’s sec­ond largest con­trib­u­tor to its Gross Do­mes­tic Prod­uct (GDP)—took an­oth­er beat­ing as the seabridge crashed.

To­ba­go Unique Bed and Break­fast & Self Cater­ing As­so­ci­a­tion pres­i­dent Kaye Trot­man ex­pressed sim­i­lar sen­ti­ments to James. “We are in favour with the gen­er­al trend of the dis­cus­sion but those are for the medi­um term im­pact...we have East­er and Jazz com­ing up and we are not sure what the trav­el be­tween the is­lands will be like.”

She said the as­so­ci­a­tion agrees with Row­ley that more mar­ket­ing has to be done.

“How­ev­er, the com­ment (from trav­ellers) is al­ways how do we get to To­ba­go? The PM is cer­tain­ly on the right trend but our chal­lenge has al­ways been what do we do now,” Trot­man said.

Truck­ers and Traders As­so­ci­a­tion pres­i­dent Ho­race Ameade mean­while said the as­so­ci­a­tion is hope­ful the ex­ist­ing sit­u­a­tion can change. “We heard these words in 2016 when the Prime Min­is­ter met with us in To­ba­go, let’s hope we can see them brought to fruition,” Ameade said.

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #84 on: April 07, 2019, 05:29:20 AM »
Tobago airport project presses on
By Kinnesha George-Harry (Newsday).


Despite lingering concerns among Crown Point residents about the Government’s proposed expansion of the Arthur NR International Airport, Tobago, the mega project is proceeding full speed ahead.

National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) project manager Onika Morris-Alleyne revealed on Friday the project is expected to begin next month with an estimated completion time of December 2020.

“We are now at the stage where we are ready to begin the land surveys and studies that need to happen, and to begin the detailed design of the project, that would be kicking off in May 2019,” she told residents on Friday during a public forum hosted by Nidco at Rovanel’s Resort, Store Bay Local Road, Crown Point.

Morris-Alleyne said evaluation work on the lands under consideration and upgrade of the existing terminal is expected to begin in July.

She added the construction of the new main terminal is scheduled to begin in November.

“The intention is to complete the new terminal for operation by the end of December 2020,” she said.

The meeting, attended by close to 100 residents, provided information about the project in relation to land acquisition and social and environmental impact.

Morris-Alleyne, who provided details about aspects of the project, said the intention is to construct a new passenger terminal for both domestic and international operations east of the existing air traffic control tower.

This, she said, would be designed to accommodate a capacity of three million passengers.

“The capacity of the existing airport is one million passengers. So, the design of the new airport would allow for a sustainable development and also future expansions, so we can increase capacity as we go along.”

She said the project would be undertaken in two phases; construction of a new terminal building and associated works and construction of a new airport access road.

“The new terminal building and associated works… the site is roughly bounded by Gaskin Bay Road to the east, the existing airport runway to the south, old Store Bay Road to the north and roughly the existing airport perimeter fence line, which is near to the MET office going north on the Western side,” said Morris-Alleyne.

“The building is going to be designed in a “Z” shape with an international wing and a domestic wing. The airport is being developed by a design, finance, construct contractor, which means that the contractor would design the works, finance the works and construct the works to b e repaid over a period of time.”

Nidco's vice president of engineering and programme management Steve Garibsingh explained to residents the results of social surveys conducted by ACQ and Associates between February 18 and March 30 in Crown Point.

Saying social surveys are an essential part of the land acquisition process, Garibsingh said they are used to identify persons living in or having some interest in a property and determine how they can be impacted by the acquisition.

“The impacts because of acquisition is really a difficult thing… mentally, emotionally, it’s stressful,” he said.

“We really would like to develop a policy that would assist those individuals that need that type of assistance to relocate as easily as possible.”

Garibsingh added: “We identified 92 parcels over the 53 acres that ought to be acquired. We were able to interview 79 of the persons who had interest in these parcels, so more or less, we were able to obtain data from three quarters of the affected population.

“Eleven persons declined to provide any information at all, and we were not able to locate ten persons, while three persons stated that we should seek information from their representatives.”

He said section three legal notices were issued to all landowners.

“That is simply telling the land owner that we are likely to acquire your property for a public purpose. It allows the State to enter onto your property to conduct surveys and studies,” he said

“Once approved by Cabinet, the notice is published in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette, it is then served within seven working days of publication in the Gazette. The notices are also posted twice in the daily newspapers and I want to emphasise that the notice is not an eviction notice,” he said.

Having completed the surveys and studies, Garibsingh said the next step would be the publication of the Section Four legal notice, which allows the state to enter the property and take possession of it.

“A section four notice cannot be served before two months has elapsed after publication of the section three notice… once that section four is published, the Commissioner of State Lands is inclined to invite the affected persons, the land owners to submit their valuation and claims,” he said.

Garibsingh said in the negotiation stage, the owner may apply for up to 80 per cent of the Commissioner of Valuations estimate, prior to agreement, after which, upon settlement, the landowner can submit claim for the outstanding 20 per cent balance of the compensation.

He said after this is done the landowner will have to vacate the property so that the State can come in and do the construction.

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #85 on: May 09, 2019, 01:22:29 AM »
i know i misunderstanding something here, but ah fraid to ask

https://newsday.co.tt/2019/05/09/ferry-dry-docked-in-spain/

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #86 on: January 29, 2020, 08:03:40 AM »
The Tobago airport project to cost $1.2 billion.
CCN TV6.


Government is to spend a total of $1.2 billion constructing a new airport terminal in Tobago, upgrading the existing Arthur NR Robinson terminal there and paying tenants to acquire their land.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert made this disclosure at the contract signing ceremony at the Tobago airport on Tuesday.

The construction work has been awarded to China Railway Construction Caribbean Ltd.

https://www.facebook.com/CCNTV6/videos/180205279864001/

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #87 on: January 29, 2020, 11:25:09 AM »
Tobago woman set on fire.
By CASANDRA THOMPSON-FORBES (Guardian).


A 19 year old woman was air­lift­ed to Trinidad, af­ter she was al­leged­ly set on fire by un­known men, on Tues­day night.

She was found near Kil­gwyn Bay, near the Apex Restau­rant and Bar.

The vic­tim has been iden­ti­fied as Al­lena Di­al of Rise­land Trace, Carn­bee, a kitchen as­sis­tant em­ployed with the Tris­tar Restau­rant.

Ac­cord­ing to po­lice re­ports the in­ci­dent oc­curred short­ly be­fore 9pm on Tues­day.

Guardian Me­dia un­der­stands that the woman told po­lice she was at an area near Kil­gwyn Bay, when two un­known men doused her with a flam­ma­ble sub­stance and set her on fire.

We are told that the woman ran to the Apex Restau­rant for as­sis­tance. An EHS am­bu­lance was called and she was rushed to the Scar­bor­ough Gen­er­al Hos­pi­tal for treat­ment.

The woman suf­fered third de­gree burns to her face and up­per body. She al­so had re­ceived a stab wound to her left fore­arm, and cuts to her fore­head and neck.

She was air­lift­ed to Trinidad dur­ing the ear­ly hours on Wednes­day morn­ing.

She is said to be in a crit­i­cal con­di­tion at the Mt. Hope Hos­pi­tal.

Crown Point Po­lice are con­tin­u­ing in­ves­ti­ga­tions.

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Offline Flex

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #88 on: January 29, 2020, 11:30:17 AM »
Tobago cop to sue Griffith over promotions.
By Derek Achong (Guardian).


A se­nior po­lice of­fi­cer from To­ba­go has been giv­en the green light to sue Po­lice Com­mis­sion­er Gary Grif­fith over his han­dling of pro­mo­tions to the rank of Su­per­in­ten­dent.

High Court Judge Eleanor Don­ald­son-Hon­ey­well yes­ter­day grant­ed act­ing Se­nior Supt Col­lis Hazel, of Rox­bor­ough, To­ba­go, leave to pur­sue his ju­di­cial re­view case against Grif­fith.

In the law­suit, Hazel, who joined the T&T Po­lice Ser­vice (TTPS) in 1991, claimed that af­ter pass­ing the pro­mo­tion ex­am­i­na­tion and in­ter­view with the Pro­mo­tion Ad­vi­so­ry Board, he was placed at num­ber 46 on a mer­it list.

On Sep­tem­ber 4, 2018, the first 45 of­fi­cers were pro­mot­ed.

Hazel claims that al­though Grif­fith agreed to ex­tend the life of the mer­it list to Sep­tem­ber 3, 2020, he sub­se­quent­ly re­voked his de­ci­sion.

In the law­suit, Hazel, who has been giv­en act­ing ap­point­ments, is claim­ing that Grif­fith’s de­ci­sion was un­rea­son­able as it was done with­out any warn­ing or con­sul­ta­tion. Hazel is al­so con­tend­ing that the is­sue has af­fect­ed sev­er­al oth­er se­nior of­fi­cers, who are sim­i­lar­ly cir­cum­stanced.

Hazel is seek­ing a de­c­la­ra­tion that he has been treat­ed un­fair­ly and an or­der di­rect­ing Grif­fith to pro­vide writ­ten rea­sons for the sud­den de­ci­sion to re­voke the list.

He is al­so seek­ing an or­der to quash the de­ci­sion and de­clare it il­le­gal, null and void and of no le­gal ef­fect.

Hazel is be­ing rep­re­sent­ed by Anand Ram­lo­gan, SC, Alvin Pariags­ingh, and Alana Ram­baran.

The law­suit is ex­pect­ed to come up for hear­ing with­in the next two months.

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Re: Tobago News.
« Reply #89 on: January 29, 2020, 01:17:59 PM »
Pigeon Point named in world’s 50 best beaches
By Julien Neaves (Newsday)


Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell said he was not surprised Pigeon Point was named in the world's 50 best beaches by international monthly magazine Marie Claire.

“The high ranking of Pigeon Point Beach as one of the world’s most exotic and beautiful beaches comes as no surprise to me or to any of us in the tourism sector," he said.

In a recent article on marieclaire.com Pigeon Point was listed eighth in the 50 best beaches in the world, though the article did not state there was a ranking of the beaches. The caption read "Even the palm trees in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago are relaxed."

Mitchell in a message to Newsday said that Pigeon Point is "certainly regarded as the most iconic and beautiful in all of Trinidad and Tobago. And there is more beauty still to behold in the other idyllic, serene, and peaceful beaches in the undiscovered paradise that is Tobago. Englishman’s bay, Back bay, Pirate’s Bay, Speyside, Castara to name a few."

He said together with the Tobago House of Assembly and the Tobago Tourism Agency Government is actively trying to attract more and more visitors to experience the awesome beauty that lies in Tobago.

"To do that means we must work on airlift and offer a welcoming and an uncomplicated business environment to those integrated hotel operators wishing to set up in Tobago.

"Such as Apple Leisure Group and the Sunwing Group who all are integrated with the airlift required to bring visitors to our shores. We are excited by the interest and commitment by those huge tourism players." He added: "It is unfortunate the circumstances of the Sandals withdrawal as they too had a tremendous pulling power to draw visitors to experiences the beautiful paradise that we are fortunate to call home."

The marieclaire.com list included beaches from Florida and California in the US, Greece, Cambodia, Seychelles, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain and there were seven other Caribbean beaches: Shoal Bay East, Anguilla; Eagle Beach, Aruba; Harrismith Beach, Barbados; Cas Abao, Curaçao; Seven Mile Beach, Grand Caymans; Reduit Beach, St Lucia; and Trunk Bay, St John, US Virgin Islands.

In July 2017, Pigeon Point Beach was ranked 98 of the world's 100 best beaches by CNN.com. The website said "Pigeon Point is a literal representation of the Caribbean beach ideal, right down to the charming old lady who sells soursop ice cream by the pound" and described the highlight as the thatched-roofed jetty "possibly the most photographed jetty in the world".

Pigeon Point Beach is also rated 4.5 from 1,222 reviews on Tripadvisor.com and number 17 of 174 things to do in Tobago.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

 

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