Govt pulls plug on smelter

By Sue-Ann Wayow South Bureau

ENERGY Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan confirmed yesterday Government had pulled the plug on the Alutrint aluminium smelter project at the La Brea Industrial Estate.

Speaking with members of the media, following a luncheon hosted by the Energy Chamber at Paria Suites in La Romaine yesterday, the minister said the People's Partnership had no intention of continuing with the construction of the smelter plant.

Construction stalled last June after High Court Justice Mira Dean-Armorer ordered an injunction, based on a challenge from several environmental organisations, against the decision by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to grant a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) to Alutrint. The order was appealed and a judgment is pending. In the meantime, work on a port facility and power plant, both in support of the smelter, has continued in La Brea. Seepersad-Bachan's People's Partnership Government had promised during the general election campaign there would be no smelter. Yesterday, she said: "As of May 24, all further construction...stopped." She said no jobs would be lost, and alternative measures would be put in place to accommodate any incurred losses. She did not outline the measures or how soon they would be implemented. Environmentalist and anti-smelter activist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh has welcomed the move. "It was the logical and scientific thing to do," he said yesterday. He said there was enough time to look at and evaluate the facts concerning the smelter plants to realise it was not beneficial to this country's economy. He said the construction of smelter plants was not only uneconomical, but it was also an ecological disaster for the south peninsula, and it significantly impacted on human health. Kublalsingh said there should be other ways in which the port at Labidco and the power plant at the Union Industrial Estate could be utilised. He also suggested the 5,000-plus workers involved in previous operations be transferred to these facilities. Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/business/97995309.html