Three ministries to be relocated in Chaguanas

Fazal Karim: "Chaguanas has the land space to expand..."

Fazal Karim said on Saturday his ministry and two others will soon be operating out of Chaguanas instead of Port of Spain.

The Minister of Tertiary Education was speaking at the formal opening of new headquarters of the Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP), located at Mulchan Sieuchan Road, Chaguanas.

“It is the first time in the history of this country that a head office of this nature has moved south of the Caroni River,” Karim said. He added that it is just the start of what is expected to take place within the borough over the “next two to three years”.

Karim said his ministry has received Cabinet approval to build its headquarters on five acres of land located near the Divali Nagar site at a cost of $150 million.

“It will also house head offices of YTEPP, National Training Agency and the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago,” Karim said.

He said the head office of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT) will also move to Chaguanas from its cramped location on Melville Street, Port-of-Spain. The cost of renting space there is $1 million a year, he said.

Karim said: “On Tuesday morning we start commissioning of the lands. They already have plans to start the construction of class rooms, which will be commissioned in the first case as prefab buildings for the September academic year.”

Karim added, “Chaguanas has the land space to expand. I am aware that three ministries have been earmarked to look at moving their head offices from Port-of-Spain.

"It will increase employment opportunities for contractors as well as employees. Chaguanas is going to further expand. The road networks are going to improve." The other two are Food Production and Trade and Investment.

Karim said the move is part of the decentralisation of government services.