A reported proposal for cable cars to take people up to Fort Picton in Laventille is only an idea and is not on the table for consideration or approval, Planning Minister Bhoe Tewarie said in Parliament on Friday. Replying on an Opposition question, Tewarie said he had only spoken about the idea recently and it made the headlines.
Tewarie said the idea came from an IDB-supported plan for such facilities in certain parts of the hemisphere after an IDB-funded vist to T&T, by Swiss students, who did a study on the issue. UWI and UTT students were also involved. It was proposed that cable cars could ferry local and foreign visitors as well as residents between those hilly parts of Laventille near Fort Picton and City Gate. The proposal was received and accepted for further consideration to improve access to the heritage site.
To date the IDB has contracted a feasibility study by a consultant and draft terms of reference for a proposal are being reviewed by a local technical team. But, he said, “To date no specific cable car projections are on the table for consideration nor for approval by government.”
After expressing an interest in such a system, financial, economic and technical studies are to be done. Tewarie said as a result there is no estimated date for the start of infrastructural work until studies are done and a decision is made whether or not to pursue implementing the system.