Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 27/Feb 05:56

IDA: Tobago businesses must benefit from new airport

THE INNOVATIVE Democratic Alliance (IDA) has called on Chief Secretary Farley Augustine to establish a special unit to prepare Tobago businesses for opportunities in the new ANR Robinson airport, which is expected to be commission on March 15. During a news conference on February 25 at the IDA’s headquarters in Scarborough, the party’s PRO Kaye Trotman said, “Deliberate steps must be taken to assist businesses to capitalise on opportunities that would be presented.” Saying the new airport raises the issue of economic exclusion of Tobago businesses from opportunities of commerce, Trotman said the party recently saw flyers advertising calls for RFPs (requests for proposals) for food and beverage spaces, which would cover grab-and-go enterprise, quick-service restaurants and casual dining restaurants. The flyers, she said, also advertised RFPs for small business spaces for souvenirs, confectionery, arts and craft, local treats and preserved fruits. “But you know what I didn’t see or what I didn’t hear? I don’t know if there were any RFPs that were issued for the duty-free shipping spaces. “What was the process used if there were? And if it wasn’t issued, what process will be used to determine who gets spaces for duty-free operations and are any Tobago businesses likely to get any of these duty-free spaces?” Trotman accused the THA of neglecting its role in ensuring that Tobago businesses have guaranteed spaces to operate in the new airport terminal. “Wasn’t any effort made to negotiate with airport airport authority or the central government or whichever appropriate body to ensure that a percentage of space was guaranteed for Tobago business?” Trotman said Tobago businesses must be actively included in the airport’s economic activity. “I therefore want to reiterate that Tobago businesses must not be a picturesque backdrop to the economic development that is going to be taking place in our own space. “That is why the IDA is issuing a call to action for both the THA and central government to ensure that Tobago is not sidelined in its own economic development.” Trotman said the IDA also believes the airport poses a potential security risk to commuters and nearby properties. “If we are to observe quite carefully, the new terminal building is poised and positioned precariously close to the public road with apparently minimal structural buffer for disrupting the environment. “In fact, if you were to look closely, part of the terminal building is so close to the road that the roof appears to be hanging over the sidewalk.” She said international regulations demand rigorous safeguarding of airport parameters, especially against potential threats, “whether these threats are intentional or accidental.” Trotman added, “We, like many Tobagonians, have waited and have heard no comments, nothing at all as it relates to these alarming security issues. Has no one recognised that we are flirting with danger and has no one seen it fit to address these issues?” She urged the government to explain how it plans to mitigate these risks. Trotman added the THA is not absolved from its share of culpability, especially where the management of traffic flow is concerned. She said access to the new airport, along the narrow Store Bay Local Road, is likely to pose significant safety and logistical concerns with increased traffic to and from the airport. “I can just picture the traffic nightmare that is waiting to happen, increased traffic congestion and the burdensome manoeuvring during emergency situations.” The post IDA: Tobago businesses must benefit from new airport appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.