Construction & Real Estate
From The Report: Trinidad & Tobago 2018
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The construction sector has the potential to satisfy the housing demands of Trinbagonians, improve the transport infrastructure and support economic growth over the long term. Local professionals have been largely responsible for the built environment of Trinidad and Tobago until recently, and the domestic sector still has strong potential to develop local capabilities outside T&T. However, proper planning is required to ensure that the sector can advance in a way that safeguards the interests of the country’s future generations.
In the face of subdued demand and the resulting competition for tenants, developers are adapting to the shifting demographics and rising requirements for improved service delivery and amenities in the office and residential segments. Longer-term growth will be largely dependent on the health of the economy, as this could once again shift the dynamics of real estate in T&T. As the economy rebounds, market demand is expected to gradually catch up to supply.

This chapter includes an interview with Meng Yan, Managing Director, China Railway Construction (Caribbean) Company.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Rebuilding momentum: Infrastructure works in the pipeline set to drive sector activity
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Although the sector has a long and successful history in Trinidad and Tobago, construction remains heavily dependent on government spending. Partly due to a number of large-scale projects reaching or nearing completion, the sector’s economic performance has contracted in recent years, with negative growth of 1.6% in 2015, 5.2% in 2016 and 4.8% in 2017. However, in its “2017 Review of the Economy”, the Ministry of Finance forecast that the uptick in public construction projects in late…

Interview

Finding a way: Meng Yan, Managing Director, China Railway Construction (Caribbean) Company, on the framework required to address current and future infrastructure needs
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Interview:Meng Yan What major developments can we expect to see from the sector in the short to medium term? MENG YAN: The recent economic recession has affected the pace and rhythm of the construction sector in general, and large infrastructural projects in particular. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has attempted to get the best value for each dollar invested in infrastructure during years of limited revenue and budgets. The entire tendering and project-awarding processes is transparent…

Overview

Homing in: While activity in the private sector slows, the government forges ahead with plans to supply more public housing
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The residential real estate market has experienced fluctuations through the boom and bust cycles. During the 1990s and into the 2000s, buoyed by high energy prices and large amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI), there was a corresponding increase in property development. As a result, the prices of homes rose by more than 400% from 1991 to 2006. This drove up the price of properties in the wider north-west region and in the areas around Point Lisas Industrial Estate in particular. Prices…

Analysis

Instituting tax: Final reforms support moves to enforce property taxes for the first time in years
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Upon assuming office in 2015, the administration of Prime Minister Keith Rowley announced its intention to reintroduce legislation to put into effect the collection of property tax in Trinidad and Tobago. This would build upon steps taken by the previous administration to reformulate the mechanism utilised to calculate and collect property taxes in the country. In preparation for doing so, the existing Land and Building Taxes Act of 1920 was repealed and replaced by the Property Tax Act of…

Overview

Sustainable urbanisation: As urban populations undergo rapid growth around the globe, planners are striving to create efficient spaces – TT
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In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of humanity was living in urban areas. Perhaps the most remarkable observation about this trend is the speed at which it has happened: as recently as 1900 urban areas accounted for 13% of the global population. Towns and cities are seen as the crucibles of opportunity for many rural dwellers. The UN estimates that by 2030 urban areas will host 60% of the world’s population – up from 54.5% in 2016 – with the pace of urban growth especially rapid across Africa and parts of Asia. Urban areas are home to more than 470m people in Africa, accounting for 40% of the continent’s population,…