TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS - MAY

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SUBJECT: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS - MAY

The following were notable economic issues in Trinidad & Tobago
during the month of May

1) CA adds flights to Caribbean and North America
2) Another airline for T&T
3) Goodbye State-Run Sugar
4) Panama Canal Project invitation
5) TSTT loses millions
6) T&T's economic growth impressive
7) Record nesting season for leatherback turtles
8) Investors in Venezuela relocate to T&T?
9) T&T Transport - buses, rapid rail, water taxis
10) Saharan Dust in Trinidad contains pesticides,
USGS-led team finds
11) Climate change warnings
12) Alutrint to begin site work - or not!
13) New Cuban medics in town



1. CA adds flights to Caribbean and North America
-------------- --------------

Caribbean Airlines will increase seat capacity to the Caribbean and
North America by 25 percent. CA will fly double daily frequencies
to New York four days a week, maintaining daily service for the rest
to the week. The airline will add one extra flight to the Toronto
route, and a morning and evening service linking Guyana, Barbados
and Port of Spain three times weekly.


2. Another T&T airline
--------------

Constellation West Indies Airways Ltd. (CWIA),T&T's newest airline,
is scheduled to take to the skies in later this year after
celebrating its inaugural flight to Panama and Curacao in June. The
airline's Managing Director and sole shareholder Mujjhtabah Mohammed
is also the Managing Director of Constellation Travel Service.
According to newspaper reports, the company has been in the travel
business for 23 years and has been involved in charter operations.
CWIA is presently in the process of applying for its local Air
Operators Certificate. CWIA routes will include Guyana, Fort
Lauderdale, New York, and Toronto. The airline's fleet will consist
of two Boeing 757 aircraft, and it intends to acquire other craft in
the future.


3. Goodbye State-Run Sugar
--------------

May 25 saw the last truck loads of cane brought to the sugar
factory. However, the State-run Sugar Manufacturing Company Limited
(SMCL) closed it final crop with an 18,000 ton shortfall of it
intended target of 378 tons of cane. All the sugar produced was
exported, with the final shipment of 7,000 tons going to the
European Union.


4. Panama Canal Project invitation
--------------

Chief Operations Officer of the Panama Canal Authority Manual
Benitez extended an invitation to the local business community to be
part of the US$5.25 billion Panama Canal extension, presently in
progress and due to be completed in 2014. Benitez' list of needs
included asphalt, steel, aggregate, cement and technical expertise.
When the canal was first built, 1,427 T&T workers were contracted
for the project.


5. TSTT loses millions
--------------

Local telecom provider TSTT is likely to declare an after tax loss
of US$19 million compared to a post tax profit of US$41 million last
year. TSTT's CEO Roberto Peon said the company suffered from "asset
impairment" estimated at US$30 million, US$16 million from fraud,
the lost of US$14 million from it international long distance
market, and cable theft (for copper) amounted to US$4 million. Peon
plans to approach Government for a moratorium on the sale/export of
copper. TSTT is 51 percent owned by the GOTT and 49 percent is
owned by international telecom giant Cable and Wireless.


6. T&T's economic growth impressive
--------------

Two credit rating agencies commended T&T on its impressive economic
growth. Regional agency Caricris assigned its highest
creditworthiness rating to the government for debt size of US$500
million, assigning ratings of CariAAA to foreign currency and
CariAAA for local currency in its rating scale. Analysts from
International rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) also lauded the

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government on its impressive growth but expressed concern over its
lack of economic diversification and dependency on energy revenues.
IMF Mission Chief for T&T here to attend the Regional Economic
Outlook described T&T's economic growth as "quite a remarkable
achievement."


7. Record nesting season for leatherback turtles
-------------- ---

Scientists predicted record numbers of nesting leatherback turtles
in T&T this year as local and international conservationists ramp up
efforts to protect this endangered species. The north coast of T&T
has long been the second most popular nesting destination worldwide
for leatherback turtles, the largest turtle species and may see
upwards of 7,000 females this year. This unique spectacle is
becoming a more important draw for eco-tourism, and local
communities are getting increasingly involved in conservation
efforts. Dr. Scott Eckert, director of science for the Wider
Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST),commends local
conservation management efforts, and notes that local turtle groups,
which monitor the beaches where the turtles nest and lead guided
tours, have become the primary economic force in some north-coast
villages and serve as a model of how sea turtle nesting can be used
as a resource for community development. Local environmental groups
and relevant government ministries also formed a Nets Working
Committee in 2007 to protect these turtles and other marine species.


However, despite community-based conservation efforts, leatherback
turtles continue to face danger in T&T from poachers as well as from
entanglement in gill nets or shrimp trawling nets. The U.S.
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration is developing
strategies for local fisherman to reduce the number of turtles
caught in gill nets. Post will report in greater detail on these
strategies as well as on efforts to implement turtle excluder
devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawling nets septel.


8. Investors in Venezuela relocate to T&T?
--------------

During a post cabinet press conference GOTT Trade Minister Ken
Valley announced that two or three major foreign companies with
investments in Venezuela have made enquiries about relocating to
T&T. He said the companies were not in the energy sector, but he
declined to identify them. Valley said that if companies decided to
relocate to T&T, the Government would look favourably at the
possible investment. However, he said that the GOTT would not
actively entice companies to pull out of Venezuela.


9. Transport T&T - buses, rapid rail, water taxis
-------------- --------------

Buses: Minister of Works and Transport Colm Imbert commissioned 38
new buses bringing the local fleet to 230 with an additional 12
buses expected later this year. The Minister requested proposals for
an additional 50 buses specifically for use in rural and suburban
areas. Twenty-five articulated buses were manufactured by Volvo,
Brazil, and 13 tour buses were manufactured by Chinese firm Zonda
and acquired through Champion Motors of the U.S. Total cost was
approx. US$8.4 million.

Rapid Rail: Imbert announced that a contractor for the rapid rail
project final design and planning stage would be announced shortly.
PM Manning also confirmed that final negotiations would be completed
by the end of June. The two consortia bidding for this project are
Trintrain consortium lead by French company Bouygues Travaux Publics
and the T-3 Group, led by another French company Vinci Construction
and Bombardier. Estimated value for the total project is US$1.1
billion.

Water Taxis: Manning announced that the infrastructure for the
water taxis was established and the service would be in operation by
the end of August.


10. Saharan Dust in Trinidad contains pesticides, USGS-led team
finds
-------------- --------------

A recently released report based on the findings of a U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) team examining the effects of Saharan dust
in T&T found that the dust samples collected over the past two years
contain six pesticides harmful to human, animal and plant health.
The Saharan dust, consisting of soil and other particles that are
transported every year across the Atlantic from Africa to the
Caribbean and the Southeastern U.S., has been blamed for many health
issues in T&T, including asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and
Environmental Management Agency chairman Dr. John Agard says Saharan
dust has been increasing in recent years. The USGS, along with

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local and international partners, is involved in a six-year study of
the Saharan dust and its effect on humans and coral reefs.
Currently in the middle of their third year of research, they are
working with Post to gain access to a new dust sampling location in
Tobago.


11. Climate change warnings
--------------

At a three-day conference on climate change, Permanent Secretary in
the Ministry of the Environment Jacqueline Ganteaume-Farrell told
participants (mostly school children) that reclaimed land and
removal of mangrove for coastal development only added to the
country's vulnerability to climate change. She said the National
Reforestation and Watershed Rehabilitation Programme will replace
33,030 acres of trees over the next ten years. A program has been
established with energy companies to ensure that any trees they
remove are replanted in the same area or an area approved by the
Ministry. The Government is also testing the feasibility of using
solar energy to heat water in homes and will evaluate the use of
alternative fuels through a pilot project using solar water heating
in 11 test homes.

Chairman of the Environmental Management Authority John Agard said
that T&T was a victim of climate change, with rising sea levels from
1.3 to 1.6 mm, warmer temperatures; the recent dry season produced
the country's hottest temperature of 35.8 degrees Celsius, and a
decrease in rainfall. He also warned of the increases in
weather-related deaths and infectious diseases. Agard noted that
although T&T lies outside of the hurricane belt, hurricanes are
coming closer. He said that the total amount of greenhouse gasses
emitted in T&T is insignificant compared to the U.S. and China, but
as a petroleum economy, the country has a moral responsibility to
contribute to the solution.


12. Alutrint to begin site work - or not!
--------------

The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) awarded a Certificate
of Environmental Clearance (CEC) to majority state-owned company
Alutrint to construct an aluminium smelter in Trinidad. The company
indicated that pre-construction activity on the smelter complex is
likely to being in the second half of 2007, to be completed in the
latter half of 2009. However, the Civil Rights Association which is
chaired by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, former Attorney General under
the United National Congress (UNC) administration, intends to file
for judicial review to quash the granting of the CEC. In addition,
the Association will seek a Court order to block Alutrint from
moving forward with construction. A release from Alutrint
acknowledged that it will review the very comprehensive CEC in order
to ensure that the EMA's conditions are fulfilled within the time
frames specified. It also reaffirmed that Alutrint would consider
all health, safety and environmental regulatory requirements as a
minimum target, and continually strive to improve upon statutory
expectations.


13. New Cuban medics in town
--------------

A team of medical personnel from Cuba comprising 22 doctors and 18
nurses arrived in T&T on two-year contracts to help with the
shortage of specialized medical personal at hospitals. The team,
the third set of Cuban medical personnel to come to T&T,
participated in a three-week training and orientation program
designed to familiarize them with local conditions. According to
Health Minister John Rahael, another batch of 30 medics was expected
in June. Over the last four years, doctors employed with the United
National Voluntary Programme and pharmacists from the Philippines
have been recruited to provide health care at various institutions.



AUSTIN