Trade and Industry Minister, Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon and senior Ministry staff met this morning with a delegation from the Beijing Construction Engineering Group led by Mr. Zeng Peng, Chairman and General Manager. The meeting sought to advance discussions on the development of the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate (PPIE). The PPIE will be a world-class facility designed to be a catalyst in supporting the growth of the non-energy sector, particularly in manufacturing, and therefore of strategic importance to advance the further diversification of the economy. At the meeting the Minister emphasised the significance of the project to the revitalisation of Southern Trinidad and further expansion of the manufacturing sector.
The construction of the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate will be financed through a loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of the People’s Republic of China in the amount of US$104,295,000 and will be completed in 12-months. The park will cover an area of 133 acres with seventy (70) plots ranging in sizes between 0.8 and 1.3 acres and contain five (5) factory shells each at 5,000 square feet. The establishment of this new industrial park will promote Government’s efforts as it targets firms in the areas of high-value and light manufacturing, logistics/warehousing, and emerging industries (electronic technology, information technology, energy-saving ecological building materials and biotechnology).
BCEG has guaranteed the operations of at least ten (10) Chinese firms at the new park with significant interest in the area of manufacturing. Local labour will be used in construction and a major percentage of the building materials sourced in Trinidad and Tobago. Once fully operational, the park will directly employ over 4,500 persons with 1,000 expected to be employed during the construction phase.