When it comes to implementing the most important projects that promise to have the biggest impact on the highest number of people, you want to make sure that you have the right kind of company behind you. Led by the most astute of business minds and governed by the strongest set of principles. Endeavour Magazine was fortunate enough to speak to the President of NIDCO regards Dr. Carson Charles.

WRITTEN BY DONNIE RUST

BUILDING Solid Relationships

www.littlegatepublishing.com

NIDCO

001 868-627-9474 WWW.NIDCO.CO.TT

NIDCO

Endeavour Magazine (EM): When was NIDCO established?

Dr. Carson Charles (CC): The National Infrastructure Development Company Limited (NIDCO) first opened its doors on January 11, 2005. We were set up by the government as a Special Purpose State Enterprise to fast track the implementation of major infrastructure development projects; the construction of highways, for example.

EM: Is NIDCO the only organisation in Trinidad & Tobago that engages in infrastructure development?

CC: No. NIDCO is one of several state institutions currently implementing the government’s capital works programme, i.e. the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). NIDCO’s mandate includes the development and delivery of a broad range of solutions to the country’s infrastructure challenges. These include (1) the construction of major highways and roadways; (2) the construction of bridges and culverts; (3) landslips repairs; (4) flood and coastal erosion mitigation; and (5) transportation management.

NIDCO’s technical capacity and organisational structure gives us the competitive advantage over other agencies to deliver major civil engineering and transportation initiatives. Our core services include:

• Procurement and Contracts Management • Construction Management• Project Planning, Project Development and Project

Execution• Project Monitoring and Evaluation • Management of the Water Taxi Service• Feasibility and Infrastructure Development Studies

EM: Can you discuss in more detail your personal working career and your exact

role within NIDCO?CC: I have been engaged with the Company since 15th July 2010

and have a Bachelor of Science (with Honours) in Civil Engineering and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Engineering from the University of the West Indies. I am responsible for leading the executing agency for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago’s infrastructure development programme for delivery of capital projects and also direct the affairs of the organization in order to achieve the strategic objectives of developmental activities and programme management, enabling the Board of Directors to fulfil its governance function. As President I also represent NIDCO and where so authorized lead all international and local efforts in respect of financing, strategic initiatives and planning. This includes the co-ordination of communications with various Government Ministries, agencies and relevant customers to which NIDCO provides its services and to assure that its mission, programmes, products and services are consistently delivered to the satisfaction of its stakeholders.

EM: What benefits does the company bring to the country’s economy?

CC: The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT) has long recognised the need to invest heavily in infrastructure development in order to drive economic growth and to improve the quality of life of its citizens. This is evident in the fact that we traditionally spend anywhere between 5% and 8% of the country’s GDP on infrastructure development. NIDCO safeguards this investment with the timely and cost-efficient delivery of projects that support economic activity and social inclusion. For example, we are currently constructing a 47km highway that is envisioned to open up economic space within the southern region of the country. Government’s investment in this project is approximately US$1.2Bn. This project directly employs an average of over 900 employees from

NIDCO

The delivery of a strategic infrastructure project relies on the creation of a premier project management organisation with strong competencies in providing the highest standard of service. Mindful at all times not only of the stake holders, but the end users of the finished project the drive has to be on maintaining the highest standards throughout. This falls to the philosophy behind the management and leadership of our company who aspire to the highest ethical standards regarding optimal quality, value and responsibility.

Jagmohan Enterprises Ltd6a Clarke RdPenalTrinidadWest Indies

001 868 647 4034 - Phone 1001 868 647 7922 - Phone 2001 868 725 4785 - Celljel_2008@hotmail.comfaroukmohammed18@hotmail.com

Jagmohan Enterprises Limited, a family oriented construction company, is a Penal based Infrastructural

Contractor (physical and social), specializing in highways, bridges and landslip construction, land development and building works. It is

one of the leading contracting firms in Trinidad and Tobago.

The company was founded by Mr. Sieunarine Jagmohan, after resigning his senior position from Trinidad Leaseholds Limited. The Company’s Directors are Mr. Sieunarine

Jagmohan and his sons and grandsons. Mr. Narase Jagmohan, one of his younger son, is the Executive Director, and is at the helm of the organization. The strength of the construction

outfit lies in its large fleet of construction plant, equipment and machinery, to match the present needs of the local construction industry.

Jagmohan Enterprises Limited has completed several prestigious projects over the last ten (10) years, for various ministries, including projects for NIDCO. The Projects Department is

managed by the dynamic and hardworking civil / structural engineer / business strategist, Mr. Farouk Mohammed, who has a wealth of experience (forty years) in the local

construction industry and is results oriented.Guidance to the organization also comes from the Executive Director, Mr. Narase

Jagmohan and these two key officers are responsible for the company having the competitive edge over others.

Photographs show Mr. Farouk Mohammed advising the Minister of Works, the Honourable Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan, a business consultant, on the

progress to date on a NIDCO managed Landslip Project in the Minister’s constituency of Tabaquite.

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within the local communities and is stimulating commercial activity

through the hiring of numerous sub-contractors and suppliers.

EM: What other areas of business do you conduct apart from Infrastructure Development?

CC: In addition to infrastructure development projects, NIDCO

was given the mandate to establish and operate the Water Taxi

Service. This service was introduced in 2008 as an alternative inter-

island and complementary mode of transportation for both citizens

and visitors. The objective of this major investment was to ease

traffic congestion along major roadways. The Water Taxi Service

now transports an average of 2,000 passengers daily.

EM: Do you see the way in which you operate in any areas changing over the course of the near distant future?

CC: Perhaps the area of greatest concern to NIDCO at this time

is its long-term financial sustainability, due primarily to the perennial

problem of lack of funding for infrastructure development projects.

Historically, infrastructure projects have been funded directly by

the government; either through the treasury or through guarantees.

However, this approach to project financing is increasingly becoming

unsustainable, as the government seeks to maintain a favourable debt position. Trinidad and Tobago is by no means alone in this dilemma. Governments across the globe are grappling with the problem of sourcing funds to improve aging and inadequate infrastructure. In recent years the idea of public-private partnerships has been gaining traction. Government intends to establish relationships with private sector entities which is expected to introduce resources and expertise into infrastructure projects. The key issue being explored now is finding the optimum balance between public and private money. This will most certainly have an impact on how we do business at NIDCO.

Focus On EmployeesEM: How many staff work for your company?

Currently, NIDCO has a staff complement of 270 employees.

What standards do the staff have to adhere to/ and what training is provided for them?

Honesty, integrity, trust, transparency, commitment and positive relationships are the operating standards of NIDCO. These values are encompassed in defining NIDCO’s concept of corporate conduct and social responsibility. NIDCO’s public image depends upon the ethics and conduct of our staff. The Company’s reputation for integrity is one of its most valuable assets and each employee must strive to uphold the Company’s integrity and to avoid situations that might cause a conflict of interest between the Company, its customers, its shareholders and its employees.

How important is individual staff development to your company?

It is the policy of the Company to facilitate the development of its employees relative to new skills, methods, procedures and technologies being employed in their particular field. It is in NIDCO’s best interest to have qualified, well-trained staff and to accomplish this goal, the Company shall put in place planned training and development activities to provide its employees with the necessary skills and behaviours to meet current and future job demands. These activities begin when an employee joins the organization and continue throughout his/her career.

NIDCO considers its efforts a partnership with its employees who must maintain primary responsibility and take the initiative in their own training and personal self-development. To assist individuals in their self-development efforts, supervisors and managers are responsible for training immediate subordinates to fulfil present job requirements and prepare them for future assignments. Management will create an environment supportive of these activities.

In order to ensure appropriate expertise is available to staff requiring development, the Human Resource/Administration Team

NIDCO

has the responsibility for developing, maintaining and controlling appropriate training activities in line with their goals and objectives. In turn, the functional areas will assume responsibility for delivery and administration of training activities relevant to their departments.

The Company will conduct in-house training programmes and seminars on a quarterly/annual basis as part of its training and development function to facilitate the continuous professional development of its employees, and further equip them with the relevant skills to ensure that they continue to add value to the Company.

In addition to its in-house training programmes, the Company will periodically select employees to participate in external training programmes on the basis of the relevant training needs of members of staff, and the resources of the Company in accordance with the Company’s goals and objectives.Do you find it difficult to find the right skilled people?

Indeed, NIDCO has challenges finding and recruiting persons with the right skills and competencies. We operate a highly competitive industry where demand is sometimes greater than supply. In addition to that, the nature of our assignments requires the employment of certain skilled professionals, such as Hydrologists and Geo-Technical experts, which skills are not usually readily available. We therefore have an ongoing recruitment drive and offer a very favourable compensation package to attract and retain the best talents – both locally and internationally.

Focus On CustomersEM: What specific customer focuses are in place to keep them satisfied and happy?

We uphold the view that customers are the most important people for any organisation. After all, NIDCO is in the business of not just developing infrastructure, but more importantly, we are changing lives. Our customers, who are primarily the travelling public, are the resource upon which NIDCO’s success depends. One aspect of our operations that relies on customer loyalty and critical success factor growth is the Water Taxi Service. This service provides transportation between south and north Trinidad to approximately 2,000 passengers daily and 40,000 monthly. Our Customer Service Representatives are continuously being trained to provide a safe and reliable, on time, cost effective service to keep ahead of the competition (that is road transportation - taxis, buses). In order to track customer care and loyalty, suggestion boxes are placed at both terminals (north and south) which are action based and the information received is implemented to improve sailing schedules. The Water Taxi Service is pursuing other initiatives to constantly improve the quality of service offered to the public.

EM: What strategies are in place to keep you ahead of the competition?

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same businesses within the supply chain or do you hold open tenders on a yearly basis to bring new suppliers and contractors on board with NIDCO?

NIDCO procures goods and services primarily through a competitive solicitation process. In general, we are guided by the FIDIC rules for engaging contractors for construction projects and adhere to the principles of fairness, integrity, transparency and effective competition. In this respect, we maintain a register of approved pre-qualified bidders for various types of contracts and contract values. This register is updated periodically.

EM: Are many of the suppliers based locally therefore contributing positively to the country’s economy and employing Trinidadians and Tobagonians within the supply chain businesses or is it a mixture of local and international suppliers who you procure from?

Our National Highways Programme is currently being executed through the efforts of both local and foreign contractors. On the

We recently applied for certification in the national Diamond Standard Programme, being piloted by the government. Diamond Standard certification is a measure of excellence in public service, where holders of are expected to perform consistently at the highest global standards.

The value we place on communities and the general public impacted by our projects is also evident in our Community Outreach Programme. Under this programme, NIDCO works with government agencies and communities in and around the vicinity of our projects to identify and implement (1) physical infrastructure improvement projects, (2) opportunities to support community-based business activities and (3) establishing of community play parks. Since the start of this corporate social responsibility initiative in 2011, we have undertaken several small drainage works in communities along the alignment of the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension to Point Fortin Project - our major project. We have also completed the paving of school and church grounds, as well as constructed a play park in the southern town of Penal.

Integration Of The Supply ChainEM: Do you continuously work with the

NIDCO

Solomon Hochoy Highway (San Fernando) to Point Fortin project, for example, we have engaged the services of a Brazilian contractor – Construtora OAS Ltda.; as well as AECOM USA, as Supervising Engineers. Another highway construction project – construction of an interchange at the Churchill Roosevelt Highway-Uriah Butler Highway, is being undertaken by Vinci Construction Grand Projets of France, long with local contractors.

So essentially, we seek to deliver projects in a way that we achieve the best value for money. However, in order to preserve our local economy, we maintain a percentage of local content on every contract.

New Developments For 2014 And BeyondEM: Please highlight three of the most exciting new developments happening now within the business

The Company is now engaged with 23 landslips repairs contracts which will be implemented within the next six months. The Ministry of Works and Infrastructure has also advised that another sixty will be sent for the design and construction. Currently, six such projects are at various stages of construction. This programme is scheduled to be completed in the next five years and is estimated at TT$418M.

The Flood Alleviation Programme is another new development at NIDCO. The key purpose is to improve the lives of persons working and living in areas in Trinidad, namely Caroni, Caparo and the South Oropouche River Basins. Arising out of feasibility studies of several river basins in Trinidad, a number of flood alleviation and water supply projects for both portable and irrigation are expected to be implemented within the next twelve months. These will comprise of detention basins, berms, river improvements etc. One key component of this project is the Port-of-Spain Flood Alleviation Project, which will be implemented with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank.

The Coastal Protection Programme is a 3-year project conceptualised to address coastal erosion and flooding along the coast line in Trinidad. The project is estimated at TT$152M.

A Bridges Rehabilitation Programme, was recently launched. It is a 6-year programme with an estimated budget of TT$400M (approximately US$62M), which will see the reconstruction of 26 dilapidated bridges across the country. NIDCO has eleven bridges under construction, and we are about to proceed with the implementation of another twelve.

EM: How are they going to improve/change the operations of NIDCO? What sort of investment/expenditure has been invested into this?

As our project profile increases in both volume and complexity,

NIDCO will be required to improve it cadre of professionals who will be directly responsible for ensuring that we meet our targets and commitments to our clients. At a first glance, we are looking to expand the capacity of our Engineering Department with the recruitment of Geo-technical Specialists, Structural Engineers and additional Civil Engineers/Project Managers. We are also actively pursuing measures to improve our project management efficiency with the establishment of an enterprise resource planning system. This will enable us to integrate our procurement, accounting and programme management functions to achieve the required level of operational efficiency.

EM: What has been your major highlight for 2014?

NIDCO’s major achievement for 2014 was the opening of the first phase of its major highway construction undertaking - the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway to Point Fortin project in southern Trinidad. This segment of the highway covers a 4.7km stretch of 4-lane roadway and boasts a newly constructed underpass at the Papourie Bridge. It links the two towns of Golconda and Debe. Commuters can now travel between Golconda and Debe in five minutes as opposed to the previous 30-45 minutes.