President of the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) Dr Carson Charles says the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin will be constructed, despite the sustained protest of environmentalist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh and his Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM)
Kublalsingh and the movement have been protesting outside the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, for the past several days in a last-ditch attempt to have the segment of the highway re-routed for environmental reasons. In an interview yesterday, Charles said: “No undertaking was ever given by the Prime Minister or Nidco to stop the project. Nobody ever gave that undertaking.”
He said last December, after Kublalsingh staged a 21-day hunger strike outside the PM’s office, it was agreed that a special committee should be set up to review the documentation for the project. That committee was chaired by Dr James Armstrong, who was then an Independent Senator.
Charles said even when that agreement was reached no undertaking was given to stop work on the disputed segment of the highway. He said the agreement provided for no work to begin in new areas, but work never stopped on the Debe to Mon Desir segment. Charles added: “We can’t stop it for Kublalsingh and his group because they didn’t want the highway to be built on that route.” A former works minister, he said billions of dollars of state resources were being invested in the highway.
In recent weeks, Kublalsingh met with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, President Anthony Carmona and Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley with a view to having the project re-routed. After those meetings the situation remained unchanged as no assurance was given that the project would be re-routed.
Charles said after looking at the report of the Highway Review Committee, Nidco’s transport consultant, whom he did not name, said Kublalsingh’s proposal “would not solve the transportation problems in that area, and the Nidco project was the most appropriate.” The HRM has threatened to take legal action to get a court injunction to temporarily stop the project.
Kublalsingh and others have vowed to do whatever was necessary to ensure the controversial segment of the highway was re-routed. The Golconda to Debe segment of the highway was opened late last month.