T&T Enterprise: to boldlyinvest where no one has

invested before

Case study: TheUpMarket Story

Agriculture - More liesbeneath the surface

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The time is now

Editor: Halima KhanEditorial Board: Communications Committee: Robert Trestrail, Catherine Kumar, HughFerreira, Anthony Agostini, Andrew Johnson, Dalia King, Michele Celestine, Marva Newton

Design & Layout: JG Design CaribbeanPublished by Eureka Communications LimitedSuite #2 No.9 Avenue First, St. James, Trinidad W.I.Tel: (868) 622-2017 • (868) 628-1555 Fax: • (868) 622-4475E-mail: • contacteureka@yahoo.com • lanny5052@gmail.com • jgdesigns.jason@gmail.com

For The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and CommerceColumbus Circle, Westmoorings, P.O. Box 499, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago W.I.Tel: (868) 637-6966 Fax: (868) 637-7425 E-mail: chamber@chamber.org.tt• Website: www.chamber.org.tt For this magazine contact: Tel: (868) 637-6966

Tobago Division: 2nd Floor ANSA McAL Building, Milford Road, Scarborough, TobagoTel: (868) 639-2669 Fax: (868) 639-2669 E-mail: tobagochamber@chamber.org.tt

Contents 1

Contact • Vol.16 No.1 2016

14 T&T’s Economic Downturn - PositiveThrough Entrepreneurial Lenses

18 Public/Private Partnerships as aformula for diversification

20 Case study: Villages as Businesses -The Lopinot experience

24 La Brea Shipyard Development

26 What every business person should know

28 Economic and Financial Statistics

30 Economic Outlook

32 Year end 2015 review

36 Lower oil prices and T&T energy

38 Energy Statistics

48 Member Profile

52 Welcome to New Members

54 Advertisers

24 Feature

La Brea ShipyardDevelopment

Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce • www.chamber.org.tt

he recent Trinidad and Tobago Parliamentary debatethat centred around the Motion, ‘Increase of LoanCeiling under The Development Loans Act’ and tabledby the Minister of Finance and Member of Parliamentthe Honourable Colm Imbert, in the 7th Sitting, 11th

Parliament in early December, 2015 points in the right directionas it is required for the much needed diversification for theeconomic survival of Trinidad and Tobago.

One such diversification strategy involves the country’s thrustinto the meaningful development and expansion of the maritimesectors, particularly Shipbuilding and Repair, both of which wereequally highlighted in the respective September 2015 ElectionManifestos of the two major political parties.

A country cannot realistically hope to achieve a reasonablemeasured outcome of diversification, if the government does notintend to support this developmental goal without the requisitefinancial investments. The Trinidad and Tobago Shipbuildingand Repair Cluster has always held this view, as was clearlystated in its ‘VISION’ Booklet, first published by ClusterStakeholders, when the now Prime Minister was heading theMinistry of Trade & Industry, in 2008. In fact, it is understoodthe Honourable Prime Minister also took the time to visit themain Shipyards, located in his Diego Martine West constituencyand situated along the sheltered North-western coastline ofTrinidad.

The Trinidad and Tobago Shipbuilding and Repair ClusterStakeholders were elated to hear the Minister of Finance, in both

the House of Representatives and in the Senate mention that theMotion tabled will assist the current government Administrationto honour contractual agreements already entered into. One ofthese signed agreements was the Design, Build and Finance of aUnited States Five hundred million dollar (USD500 Million)Shipyard development project at La Brea, South Western Trinidadwhich had been proposed by the Shipbuilding and RepairDevelopment Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (SRDC),the commercial entity of the Cluster, since September, 2010.This large-scale industrial project, which has already been endorsedby both community residents and environmental activists alike,will permit the country additional opportunities to dry dock large‘Panamax’ ocean-going ships, in a Graving Dock (A dry dockwhere the hulls of ships are repaired and maintained). This,together with the creation of a number of alongside repair berthsto handle up to Aframax sized tanker ships (80,000-120,000 DWT)which frequent the southernmost regions, including the CaribbeanSea and are mainly utilized in the ocean transportation of crudeoil between refineries, located in both The Bolivarian Republic ofVenezuela and the United States of America.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela cannot be ignored whenwe speak of expanding Trinidad and Tobago’s maritime sector,as they presently have one of the larger, more established maritimeUniversities in the region, located in Vargas State and known asLa Universidad Nacional Experimental Marítima del Caribe (UMC)together with a large fleet of Aframax tankers that assist in theircrude oil exports. In 2014, The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuelawas also the fourth largest supplier of imported crude oil to theUnited States, behind Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, accordingto the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA).In December 2015, the SRDC with the kind assistance of itsStakeholders facilitated an inward visit by a Maritime Graduatefrom the UMC. This was the first visitor from The BolivarianRepublic of Venezuela and has also followed similarly inwardsponsored visits by maritime related personnel from the UnitedKingdom in 2009 and the People’s Republic of China in 2012.

With the construction and commencement of Shipyard operationsat the new La Brea Shipyard site, expected to be completed in 2018by China Harbor Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) andproject financing arranged by the Trinidad and Tobago governmentand the Export-Import Bank of China, this also represents atremendous opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago to earn largeamounts of much needed foreign exchange. In fact, the SRDC hasenvisaged that this Shipyard may have to operate twenty-fourhours-a-day, seven days a week, similar to the Republic ofSingapore, undertaking both scheduled and emergency repairsof ocean-going ships, much in the same manner in which it hasbecome a global maritime leader from its smaller island mass. TheRepublic of Singapore is calculated to be one-fifth the size ofTrinidad and Tobago and where a ship movement (arrivals anddepartures) occurs at a rate of one ship every three minutes,approximately.

Shipbuilding and Repair is a globally competitive businessundertaking, which requires astute management and a dedicatedlabour force. With this in mind, the La Brea Shipyard intends tooperate using similar labour practices found in many establishedShipyards in North America, Europe and in the Middle-East,

T

by Wilfred de Gannes, CEO, Shipbuilding &Repair Development Co. of T&T Ltd.

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Contact • Vol.16 No.1 2016

Feature

where job opportunities are first advertised locally. Unfilledpositions will then be advertised internationally. The BolivarianRepublic of Venezuela can possibly be one closely managed sourcefor qualified employees, many of whom have gained decades of

experience from their petroleum industry, bearing in mind, theclose geographical position to Trinidad and their large populationof thirty-three million inhabitants. With the recent lifting of the40-year crude oil ban by the United States Congress, together withthe commissioning of the Cheniere Energy Sabine Pass LiquefiedNatural Gas (LNG) Terminal, strategically located on the GulfCoast of the United States of America, the timing of theannouncement that our Government will continue with the decisionto construct a world class Shipyard project in La Brea, South-western Trinidad is welcome. This will help eliminate the frequentprotests from the residents of La Brea and environs, who aredemanding well-paying jobs.

A recent study undertaken by the United States GovernmentAccountability Office (GAO) and the prediction made by theirDepartment of Energy (DOE) points to the fact that in the next fewyears, the United States of America is expected to change from anet importer of natural gas to a net exporter, with the completionof Five large-scale United States liquefaction facilities – necessaryfor the conversion of natural gas to liquid natural gas (LNG). Thischange will require at least one hundred (100) new LNG carrierships, once the five LNG liquefaction facilities are fullyoperationalised by their projected start-up date of 2020.

The La Brea Shipyard project can directly benefit from an increasein ship repairs required by these additional LNG carriers, movingtheir precious cargoes from the Gulf Coast, including Sabine Passand Corpus Christi, Texas through the expanded Panama Canalen-route to Asian markets, such as Japan, Taiwan and the People’sRepublic of China. It is anticipated that the commissioning of thethird lock in Panama in May 2016, will make LNG ship voyagesto Asia, some 8,600 kilometres shorter and will be able toaccommodate ninety-two percent (92%) of the World’s LNG fleetor some five hundred and thirty-eight (538) LNG carriers.With the expansion of the much awaited Panama Canal cominginto reality in May 2016, and the anticipated hemispheric increaseof LNG exports from the United States of America and Point Fortin,Trinidad, both requiring additional LNG shipping capacity, theShipbuilding and Repair sector looks very promising, and is wellpoised to be the premier diversification strategy for Trinidad andTobago, away from the energy sector.

Maritime Graduate from La Universidad Nacional Experimental Marítimadel Caribe (UMC) at Maritime Preservation (Trinidad) Shipyard