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Government has decided to immediately discontinue all plans to establish an Alcoa aluminium smelter on the Cap-de-Ville estate, Prime Minister Patrick Manning signalled yesterday. <\/p>\nBy Corey Connelly
\nhttp:\/\/www.guardian.co.tt<\/i><\/p>\n
Government has decided to immediately discontinue all plans to establish an Alcoa aluminium smelter on the Cap-de-Ville estate, Prime Minister Patrick Manning signalled yesterday. <\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, we shall accelerate development of a new industrial estate offshore at Otaheite Bank from which aluminium production can now be pursued together with other industrial plants,\u201d Manning said in a televised Christmas Day address to the nation.
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\nThe PM said the Government would also continue with the Alutrint plant at La Brea, which, he indicated, could form the basis for further aluminium production facilities in T&T. <\/p>\n
In a ten-page address, Manning declared that the proposed aluminium smelters, earmarked for the south-western peninsula, presented \u201cno manageable threat\u201d to either the environment or to the health of the population. <\/p>\n
Government has come under fire from residents of south Trinidad and environmental activists who have asked that authorities reconsider the move which, they said, could pose serious health and environmental risks. <\/p>\n
The controversial issue, which has elicited the views of prominent members of civil-society organisations, was the main topic at a special symposium at Paria Suites, La Romaine, recently. <\/p>\n
Referring to the symposium, which he described as \u201cquite successful,\u201d Manning said: <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an accepted fact that all industrialisation must be managed. Our symposium produced the very salient conclusion that the two proposed aluminium smelters present no unmanageable threat either to the environment or to the health of the population.\u201d <\/p>\n
He noted that the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) was entrusted with the responsibility to set standards for all industrial activity \u201cto which we ensure strict adherence.\u201d <\/p>\n
The PM said the symposium concluded that on health and environmental grounds \u201cthere was no bar to the establishment of an aluminium industry in Trinidad and Tobago and that such risks as may exist are quite manageable.\u201d <\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThe Government is now able to arrive at conclusions based on the symposium.\u201d <\/p>\n
Manning reiterated that the EMA had set the strictest standards for the pursuit of aluminium smelting facilities in the country \u201cand the Government will ensure that all standards of health and environmental safety are met.\u201d <\/p>\n
The PM said the coming of an aluminium smelter was of great importance in the new industrialisation of T&T. <\/p>\n
\u201cLike plastics, aluminium is also used in a great variety of manufacturing activity,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, we have made good progress towards this goal.\u201d <\/p>\n
Commenting on the PM\u2019s announcement, anti-smelter activist Wayne Kublalsingh said: <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Alcoa has done is that they have moved the king on the chest board one move to the left and, unfortunately, that king is Patrick Manning.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kublalsingh, a lecturer in the liberal arts department of the University of the West Indies, claimed that, if anything, the move showed clearly how indebted the PM was to the foreign corporation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe people of Chatham and T&T have been crying out to him to stop the smelter and he did not stop it from Chatham because of what the people were saying, but because they found there was too much water on the Chatham\/Cap-de-Ville site,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Kublalsingh said the new plan reaffirmed the suspicion that Manning \u201cis willing to be used as a giant pawn by Alcoa while refusing to listen to the people.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u00a92005-2006 Trinidad Publishing Company Limited <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Corey Connelly http:\/\/www.guardian.co.tt Government has decided to immediately discontinue all plans to establish an Alcoa aluminium smelter on the Cap-de-Ville estate, Prime Minister Patrick Manning signalled yesterday. \u201cInstead, we shall accelerate development of a new industrial estate offshore at Otaheite Bank from which aluminium production can now be pursued together with other industrial plants,\u201d … Continue reading Chatham residents win smelter war<\/span>