Half a billion for airport, port repairs: Imbert

The government of Trinidad and Tobago revealed Friday that it spent $416.8 million for "capital projects and infrastructural" works at Piarco International Airport, which coincided with the recent Fifth Summit of the Americas.

That's almost half of the $1.2 billion that the Panday administration invested in building and providing equipment for the new airport.

Works Minister Colm Imbert made the disclosure in a written response to a question filed by St Augustine MP Vasant Bharath, who had asked for a detailed list and costs of all the infrastructure and development projects associated with the Summit.

Imbert also gave details of expenditure at the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT), which amounted to $51.5 million.

The Government has insisted that the cost of hosting the summit was $508 million, explaining that not all the capital projects at the airport were because of the conference.

However, Imbert said hosting of Summit provided "an opportunity for the Airports Authority to fast track some of its short and medium term goals". He said the same is true for meeting some of the short and medium term goals for the PATT.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning said shortly after the Americas Summit that the event was "well inside the TT$503 budget" allocated for the three-day gathering of leaders from the Americas.

The figure includes TT$120 million for the two cruise ships; $120 million for vehicles, national security, cameras and communication equipment and "$105 million outside of that". He said the "investment" was well worth it.

Read the story: "It was well worth it": Manning

The opposition had complained that the Manning administration was reckless in its expenditure for the summit, which it claimed cost the taxpayers one billion dollars. It had demanded that the summit be scrapped.

Read the story: Kamla tells Manning scrap the summits, stop wasting money

Trinidad and Tobago will host another international gathering in November - the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference (CHOGM), which is to be attended by heads of governments from all Commonwealth nations.

Manning has said the government has allocated $630 million for both conferences. Using the government figure of $508 million for the first one it would mean that the CHOGM will cost $122 million if government wants to stay on budget.