Trinidad Scraps Alutrint, Rapid Rail Projects

Winston Dookeran, finance minister of Trinidad & Tobago, has announced that the government has scrapped plans to build a rapid rail and a smelter plant that was to be a joint venture between state-owned Alutrint and Venezuela’s Sural. Regarding the plant, Dookeran said during a budget presentation that “in addition to the health and environmental risk, there is also serious concern as to Alutrint’s viability and the optimal use of our gas.” The minister also says an alternative strategy will be developed for the south-west peninsula. The Chinese eximbank had provided a $400m loan to complete the smelter, which had been in planning stages since 2007. Feasibility studies and design plans for the rapid rail, meanwhile, have already cost TTD565m, Dookeran explains, adding that completing the project would cost TTD22.5bn.