Trinidad Cabinet approves inter-island ferry service

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Friday September 23, 2011 - Cabinet has approved the establishment of an inter-island ferry service between Trinidad and Tobago and the Eastern Caribbean.

This comes less than two months after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar revealed that the plan was being considered.

Minister of Transport Devant Maharaj said the service, which will be based in Port of Spain, will be financed through a public/private arrangement, with the majority of capital expenditure coming from the private sector.

“We are looking at perhaps US$10 [Million?] to jump on an inter-island ferry from Trinidad to go up the Caribbean and the vessels that have been linked to these proposals right now promises to be substantially larger than what we have,” Maharaj told a post Cabinet news conference Thursday.

He expressed hope that the service be extended as far as Jamaica “if not further.”

Maharaj said this will “strengthen the integration movement between and among CARICOM countries and expand the free movement of people and capital”, and bring tremendous benefits to Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.

He said the initiative already has the support of St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Stephenson King and Guyana President Bharath Jagdeo.

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/travel/505744.html?utm_source=Caribbean360+Newsletters&utm_campaign=d8cd314988-Vol_6_Issue_107_News9_23_2011&utm_medium=email#ixzz1YnZH5HsQ