T&T sells summit vehicles, turns a $3.2M profit

Jack Warner told journalists Thursday the government of Trinidad and Tobago has auctioned 19 Toyota Prado vehicles bought by the Manning administration in 2009 for the two international summits held in the country that year.

The Works and Transport Minister said the vehicles were sold by public auction through sealed bids in February with the Central Tenders Board acting as the agency. Warner said the buyers of the vehicles paid $8.3 million, which represented a significant profit.

"The Prados ranged from as low at $407,000 to as high as $471,000 on the bids. We realised a grand total of $8.3 million. In doing so, on those 19 Prados, we made a profit of $3.2 million. So if one thing emerged from the Summit, is that we made a profit on the sale of the Prados," the minister said.

Warner also stated that the funds from the sale of the vehicles would be reserved for the Children's Life Fund, at the request of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.