Photo: l-r Mr. Steve De Las, President, e TecK; Mr. Mark Loquan, President, The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited; Mr. Wang Tao, Acting General Manager, BCEG, Trinidad and Tobago

The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) has announced that it signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Commissioning (EPC) contract for gas infrastructure for e TecK’s Phoenix Park Industrial Estate (PPIE), with the Beijing Construction Engineering Group Company Limited (BCEG). BCEG, a Chinese construction and engineering firm, is the design-build contractor for PPIE.

PPIE, a GORTT initiative led by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is a state-of-the-art light industrial estate that is being developed to stimulate economic development and further diversification efforts. The 145-acre park is being built by landlord Evolving TecKnologies and Enterprise Development Company Limited (e TecK) through its contractor, BCEG.

The EPC contract signing, which took place on January 18th 2021, offers NGC an alternate avenue to achieve its strategic goals. NGC, with its wealth of experience in pipeline infrastructure construction and the sole supplier of natural gas in the local energy sector, saw the project as a natural fit with its expanding business model.

NGC’s involvement in this initiative augurs well for Trinidad and Tobago as it increases local content in the overall project. Conservative estimates by GORTT revealed that some 1,000 persons are expected to be employed during the construction phase. Once operational, the park will directly employ over 4,500 persons.

“As landlord PPIE, e TecK is proud to have been the catalyst for the discussions leading to the signing of the EPC contract between NGC and BCEG. We see this as a significant alliance to meet the demand and supply of natural gas to businesses that will be occupying 45 of the 78 leasable land lots in the areas of light and advanced manufacturing, assembly, logistics and distribution and information and communication technology (ICT) industries,” said Steve De Las, President, e TecK.

Caribbean Regional General Manager of BCEG, Mr. Ma Shulong, cemented the commitment of the company to the project by stating “… We are proud to be a part of this project to help stimulate the economic development within Trinidad and Tobago. Our employees, both local and Chinese, are fully dedicated to having this project completed on time. The alliances between the two countries have grown stronger and we look forward to working with our partners in the future.”

NGC President Mark Loquan re-emphasised that “…NGC continues to play an important role in revolutionising the local economy. Strategic alliances of this nature further position us to successfully fulfil our commitments not only to GORTT, but so too the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”

The PPIE is still in the construction phase, with a projected completion date of December 2021.