The businesses blocking the San Fernando Waterfront project along Lady Hailes Avenue.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad--While people can see work progressing on the San Fernando Waterfront redevelopment project, there is a peculiar occurrence along Lady Hailes Avenue, where the contractor constructed the new road around a few businesses.
It has led to the traffic management crew directing traffic into the partially constructed southern carriageway for several metres before allowing motorists to return to the intended route.
San Fernando West Member of Parliament (MP) Faris Al-Rawi said on Sunday that while the roadworks should finish soon, there were problems with squatters along the path.
The project, under the Urban Development Corporation Udecott, encompasses Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) and some private lands. However, residential and commercial squatters have settled on these lands over the years.
In an interview, Al-Rawi said the widening of Lady Hailes Avenue, which runs along the waterfront, is an integral part of the redevelopment and part of the scope includes squatter removal. He said six squatters agreed to move, while another six refused. Therefore, government engaged in compulsory acquisition. However, commercial squatters on the path of the northern carriageway of Lady Hailes Avenue remain. Despite this, Al-Rawi said government is close to a final solution.
“We did not want to stop the development to wait for them. Then we would have missed three years of development. So, we took the development forward. We will deal with those issues shortly. We are very close to a final solution.
“As of two weeks ago, the six squatters moved. If you go down to the waterfront now, you will see works started at the old Railway Station and Thorpe’s Garage. We have launched ahead of what I said would happen next, so the work is ongoing, and those squatters will be removed,” Al-Rawi said.
Squatters can take the state to court on compensation issues and file for an injunction to stop their removal. However, Al-Rawi is confident that conversations, negotiations and court action could remedy the matter. He said moving is usually centred around money issues. The legal fix will be for the commissioner of valuations to determine the value of the properties and make an offer.
He added that a squatter can complain from a private valuation perspective and title claims. If so, he said the state will follow due process. He said people cannot have title to state land in adverse possession unless they comply with the law.
In July 2020, Udecott turned the sod for the TTD $750 million (US $110.4 million) Lady Hailes by the Sea high-rise luxury apartments and commercial complex. But work has only just begun. Al-Rawi said coronavirus COVID-19 followed the sod-turning, but that did not dampen it.
It is a public-private partnership between Udecott and Hafeez Karamath Ltd. that will offer two- and three-bedroom apartments on the open market. It will include commercial space for restaurants, stores and a cinema. Al-Rawi said the company advertised an expression of interest for 54 units, which yielded 730 confirmed offers to buy.
“It is massively oversubscribed in the first block. People have expressed a great deal of interest. It shows the foresight in having said that 14 acres of prime land should not be used as a bus garage. It should be used for housing and development. As the Member of Parliament for San Fernando West, I am very proud to say that the prime minister supported what I advanced.”
While Hatters Steel Orchestra sits on the waterfront, Al-Rawi said it is part of the redevelopment plan. Government had temporarily relocated the pan yard to set up structures for the permanent location.
Meanwhile, the Land Settlement Agency is addressing squatters around the pan yard, where there was structural work. There is a contract going out for a seawall while reclamation continues. Al-Rawi said there are also discussions with the Inter-American Development Bank to convert the landfill into a sustainable spot.
He said fish vendors will move to a temporary facility while construction of a new fish market begins. Al-Rawi proposed that the 1924 market remain a heritage building and be used as a restaurant. He said the reclamation of 3.6 hectares of land will begin in a month.
“When will we see Miami’s down-town beach front? I would say in a year or so,” he said. ~ Trinidad & Tobago Guardian ~
