Infrastructure market in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago, (officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) consists of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago and numerous much smaller islands. The infrastructure sector is heavily dependent on government spending. As the country's P3 strategy is still relatively early stage, there are several steps that need to be taken for the ecosystem to grow. The Public Procurement and Disposal of Property Act procurement law was introduced in 2015 and amended in 2016 and was fully proclaimed on April 26, 2023.

Key opportunities for Canadian infrastructure companies in Trinidad and Tobago:

• Air transportation
• Sea transportation
• Water security

Notable challenges for Canadian infrastructure companies in Trinidad and Tobago:

• Delayed Payments;
• Foreign Currency restrictions;
• Bureaucracy and Corruption;
• Regulatory Complexity.

Trinidad and Tobago business landscape:

The infrastructure business landscape in Trinidad and Tobago has seen a growing emphasis on Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) for large-scale developmental projects. This approach gained formal institutional support in 2011 with the establishment of the PPP Unit within the Investments Division of the Ministry of Finance. However, there was a brief interruption with a change of administration in 2015, which led to the appointment of a new Coordinator. Since 2015, under Prime Minister Keith Rowley's leadership, the government has actively pursued P3 initiatives in various sectors. As of January 2019, there were 28 such projects in the pipeline across the country, with seven in advanced stages of development. These projects encompassed a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, low-income housing, waste-to-energy facilities, and infrastructure like the Mahogany Court housing complex, which was commissioned in 2016.

In Tobago, the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) established a subnational P3 unit in 2017 under the Division of Finance and Enterprise Development. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provided technical support to THA for developing a P3 policy specific to Tobago and assessing potential P3 projects. However, while various projects in housing, healthcare, and transport were proposed in 2017, the majority of recent P3 initiatives have been geared toward the tourism sector. Projects such as the expansion of the Tobago airport and the proposal of three new all-inclusive resorts were notable examples. It's important to note that the rollout of P3s in Tobago faced a potential hindrance in the form of a 2019 Court of Appeal ruling, which mandated that THA cannot enter into Build-Operate-Lease-Transfer (BOLT) agreements without approval from the Ministry of Finance. Some successful P3 projects in Trinidad and Tobago include the Tobago Cancer Care Centre, low-income housing projects, the Port of Spain General Hospital's new wing, wind and solar power production ventures, integrated solid waste systems, and the Waste to Energy Project, all of which have advanced in their P3 implementation stages.

A technical study was conducted to analyze potential P3 scenarios for the Port of Port of Spain (PPOS) and a Workshop on Best Practices on Port Governance and Management Models was delivered. Trinidad and Tobago is in the medium-term stages of implementing a P3 port project in Port of Spain. An allocation of US$8.0 million will be provided in fiscal 2023 for the continuation of the Feasibility Study for the Fast Ferry Port in Toco and the Upgrade of Berthing Infrastructure of the Port of Scarborough which are being executed by the NIDCO. The P3 aims at improving PATT's ability to deliver services and could bring in up to US$200 million in investments from the private sector.

Summary

Trinidad and Tobago is an attractive market because it is one of Canada's largest trading partners within the Caribbean community. There are long-standing historical and bilateral relations between the countries.

Government remains astute towards financing bold transformative investments by tapping into debt, public savings, and fostering public-private partnerships (P3s). The global pandemic took digital transformation to a whole new level, condensing years of technological progress over a period of months. As a result, there are many opportunities and synchronicities that can be connected and accelerated for the following proposed sectors which received major investment for fiscal 2023: Roads and Bridges, Transportation, Public Buildings, Community Development, Health and Information Technology and Infrastructure. In order for the model to become more widespread in the long term, Trinidad and Tobago needs a comprehensive and transparent regulatory framework, and a clear understanding of its infrastructure requirements. The most common public-private financing method used in Trinidad and Tobago is the build-own-lease-transfer (BOLT) scheme.

For more information on Infrastructure in the Trinidad and Tobago market, please contact Michaeline Narcisse (Michaeline.Narcisse@international.gc.ca), Trade Commissioner for the Infrastructure sector, in Trinidad and Tobago.