The newly-installed Port Authority chairman, Suresh Gangapersad, says his team will meet soon to chart a new way forward and to rethink the organisation’s goals to ensure maximum output and improve operating procedures and costs. He said this as he addressed reporters minutes after he emerged from the swearing-in ceremony at President’s House, St Ann’s, yesterday.
Gangapersad, who previously held the post of deputy chairman, was joined by three other board members who also received their instruments of appointment yesterday. They included deputy chairman, attorney Florence Ria Ramdin, Ian Deosaran, a member of the Shipping Association and Dorant Jack, a member of the Port Authority of T&T (Patt). In a brief interview, Gangapersad said the new members would be apprised almost immediately of Patt’s operations.
He said while there were several issues facing Patt, there was also a lot of “misbeliefs and misconceptions that are pointed at the Patt.” Revealing that it comprised the Port of Port-of-Spain, the Inter-Island Transport Service (TTIT) and the Port-of-Spain Infrastructure Company (Posinco), Gangapersad said each arm was responsible for certain operations. The port deals mainly with container cargo which handles imports, exports, trans-shipments and transportation of containers to storage facilities.
The property company, Posinco, is responsible for the Patt’s real estate management which spans an area just after Barataria, all the way down to the Marriott Hotel, Invader’s Bay. “All the leaseholders belong to us and there is a lot of scope available there in terms of how we deal and manage our assets and the way forward,” Gangapersad said.
Attempts to improve the operations of the TTIT have already seen discussions with the Tobago House of Assembly and other stakeholders, as Patt examined ways of improving its inter-fleet management and optimising operations in a bid to become more cost-effective and reliable, he added. Gangapersad said in light of the current global situation, there was a lot that needed to be done.
He added: “At the Port of Port-of-Spain, we need to sit down with the stakeholders and rethink and examine operations,, and how it could be improved without affecting workers.” Gangapersad said the Customs and Excise Division also had an important role to play in the Patt’s operations as all other processes were under its jurisdiction, so that if any infractions or misconduct occurred on the port it would alert Customs and its officers would render assistance where necessary.
Asked about how they would be improving the operations of the inter-island ferry service, Gangapersad said while there are two catamaran vessels operating along the route, they needed to “look at how we can get more utilisation out of these vessels.”
He said there was a huge demand for tickets from Friday to Sunday, on long weekends, public holidays and school vacation but that from Monday to Wednesday opportunities existed where they could utilise slow periods to “really take up the fixed costs of the ferries.”