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Coastal protection works in Manzanilla
Millions to be spent to arrest erosion
BY MIRANDA LA ROSE Monday, November 3 2014
THIRTEEN multi-million dollar emergency coastal protection projects have been identified by the newly-established Coastal Protection Unit (CPU) in the Works and Infrastructure Ministry to protect Trinidad’s coastline from further erosion.
However, CPU senior marine engineer Candice Gray-Bernard has said there was need for legislation to protect the country’s coastline from erosion that will endanger human life, infrastructure and economic activity as Trinidad and Tobago has none.
At present, she said, the ongoing natural coastal erosion poses “a significant risk” for human and the construction environment “if nothing is done.” In recent years, she noted several hectares of Trinidad’s shoreline has receded. Gray-Bernard spoke at last week’s Forum for the Exchange of Innovation on Coastal Protection Techniques and Methods at the ministry’s head office in Port-of-Spain.
The emergency projects, she said, will involve stabilisation works and consultancies over a three-year period to address. They will include capital stabilisation works and consultancies that are estimated to cost $354 million over a three-year period.
The capital and stabilisation works to be done include Shore of Peace Cliff where 530 linear metres of concrete seawall with rubble mound revetment will be built; and the rehabilitation of the seawall at the Manzanilla Beach Facility, through the installation of 252 linear metres of vinyl sheetpile bulkhead.
Other stabilisation works include South Cocos Bay where 800 linear metres of rubble mound revetment and 400 linear metres of artificial sand dune will be built.
Other capital and Stabilisation works have been identified for North Cocos Shoreline, Cap-de Ville Shoreline, San Souci Shoreline, Quinam Shoreline, and Matelot Shoreline Stabilisation Works Phase II. Consultancies have been identified for Matelot Shoreline stabilisation works, Mayaro-Guayaguayare Coastal Studies, a Water Level Monitoring System along Mosquito Creek, a Comprehensive National Coastal Monitoring Programme, a Comprehensive National Shoreline Management Strategy, and a Shoreline Management Plan for Manzanilla Beach from Manzanilla Point to Point Radix.
The $13.9 million Mayaro — Guayaguayare Coastal Studies contract, to determine sustainable coastal protection solutions along the Mayaro and Guayaguayare shoreline (from Point Radix to Gran Cayo Point) has been awarded to Halcrow Group (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited. They began works in October and is due to complete the project in August, 2016.
The CPU’s long-term programme, Gray-Bernard said includes the development and implementation of a comprehensive coastal monitoring programme that will inform the decision making process with respect to shoreline. It will include monitoring the impact of coastal developments, and capacity building in the public sector and tertiary institutions, and develop public education and awareness programmes.
Historically, she noted that public sector sea defence projects were undertaken “sporadically” without a comprehensive understanding of the coastal processes and environment.
There still remains, she said “a lack of a comprehensive and continuous coastal monitoring programme” and this was compounded by inadequate resources and funds. Gray-Bernard gave several examples of erosion. On the east coast of Trinidad, she noted massive erosion at Manzanilla Beach where over the past four years the sea has encroached on coconut estates and undermined the existing seawall that has led to the collapse of the backfill behind the seawall at the Manzanilla Beach Facility.
The facility has been closed to the public thereby affecting tourism development. The erosion of the shoreline on the east coast at South Cocos Bay is threatening the Manzanilla-Mayaro Road. The average erosion rate was 1.45 metre a year during 2004 to 2013.
On the South East Coast at Mayaro and Guayaguare erosion and recession of the shoreline was observed each year during 2004 to 2012. The most severe recession of shoreline in the area, Gray-Bernard said occurred in 2006 when 2.20 metre of coastline was eroded.
The average erosion rate was 0.8 metre during 2004 to 2013. On the south coast, coastal erosion is impacting on agricultural lands (coconut estates) and public infrastructure (main road) along the Icacos shoreline.
About 6.5 hectares of land has been lost at Columbus Bay in south west Trinidad between 1998 and 2010. Coastal erosion, Gray-Bernard said was also undermining the existing seawall at the North of Cap-de-Ville River where a private property owner has constructed a tyre wall along the Cap-de-Ville shoreline to keep it from receding.
“Private property owners,” she said, “often construct measures to reduce risk to coastal erosion, without consideration of appropriateness, longevity or potential impact.” At the Shore of Peace on the West Coast, erosion at the base of the cliff has resulted in slumping. “As a result the cremation facilities at the top of the cliff are being threatened,” she said. When Hindu cremations were legalised in 1952, the original cremation site was located on the right bank of the Godineau River Mouth.
Due to erosion the site was relocated to the cliff on the left bank of the Godineau River Mouth, where it remains actively in use today, as the Shore of Peace Cremation Site. Observations starting in 1998, she said, have confirmed that to date, approximately four hectares of land have been lost to the sea in this area. In addition, a section of the Paria Main Road impacted by coastal erosion in Matelot Village, and road slippage in St Helena Village on the north coast of Trinidad, were caused by coastal erosion. The rapid erosion on the shorelines are immediate threats to homes in Cap-de-Ville, Manzanilla, Matelot and Guayaguayare, and to beach properties at Manzanilla and Mayaro.
The Manzanilla-Mayaro Road, Southern Main Road, and Cap de Ville Main Road are also threatened. Erosion was also threatening ecologically sensitive areas in the Nariva Swamp and mangrove forests, and loss of revenue for coconut estates in Columbus Bay, and Cocal Retreat in Manzanilla.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,202418.html
Homes for the blind, deaf and differently-abled
April 2 ·
PEOPLE who could not walk, the blind, deaf and others with varying disabilities filled a section of the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) where emotions ran high yesterday, as they received keys from government to home sweet homes, specially outfitted for them.
Over 100 differently-abled persons – representing collectively more than 900 years of waiting for government houses – were specially invited to the ceremony which was a continuation of government’s pledge to hand out 100 homes to new owners weekly, under its housing programme.https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 407&type=1
NGC: Reveal your source
Name your source and don’t publish anything more. This is what the National Gas Company (NGC) is seeking from the Express via the High Court. The State enterprise last week filed a statement of claim in the court seeking an order for the Trinidad Express Newspapers to reveal the source of the Draft Audit Report into the company’s Corporate Communications Department and “the precise circumstances” in which it was obtained. The company is also seeking an injunction to prevent the newspaper from further publishing content from the contentious Draft Audit Report. The NGC wants the court to order the Express to desist from “making any further use of the Draft Audit Report in so far as the information contained therein has not already been disseminated to the public at large”. The company is also asking the court to order the Express to hand over to it all documents containing information derived from the Draft Audit Report. In a claim form filed at the Civil Court on April 1 by the company’s attorneys Fyard Hosein SC, Sasha Bridgemohansingh and Darrell Allahar, the NGC wants from the court: 1. A declaration that the Draft Audit Report constituted confidential information, the property of the claimant; 2. Damages including equitable damages; 3. Interest on such damages at such rate and for such period as the court thinks fit pursuant to section 25 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act Chapter 4:01 and/or the inherent jurisdiction of the court; 4. Costs; and 5. Such further and/or other relief as the court deems just. In the company’s statement of case, it noted that on Saturday, February 28, the Trinidad Express published an article under the headline “Spending Spree” on it’s website, and it was also reproduced in the Sunday Express of March 1 under the headlines: 1. “NGC corporate communications expenditure skyrockets from $67m to $200m “Spending Spree Audit finds company exposed to criminal probes, litigations, penalties” and 2. “Part 1 of an investigation into operations of the National Gas Company-Audit: Board exposed”. The NGC contends that in the article “and without the authorisation of the claimant, quoted numerous extracts from and made statements premised on information contained in a draft audit report—titled “Corporate Communications Management”—first produced in November 2014 by internal auditors belonging to NGC’s Internal Audit Department.” The NGC claims that following the publication of the articles its “employee relations have suffered and continue to suffer and the level of trust and confidence required for the effective management of the claimant’s operations has been badly impaired”. “The threat of further improper and unjustified leaks to the media continues. In light of this, the claimant, which has in its possession a large number of confidential and sensitive documents, including documents containing information which is confidential as between the claimant and third-party customers, business partners and affiliates, has been forced to take internal steps to uncover the source of the leak, including the retention of information technology specialists to determine the said source. The claimant in the circumstances seeks disclosure of the leak in order to take necessary disciplinary steps against such employee and/or collaborator who may have continuing access to the claimant’s premises and/or confidential information. However, the claimant has to date been unable to uncover the source of the leak,” the NGC stated. The NGC added that the Draft Audit Report “is a manifestly sensitive and confidential document which was prepared solely for the ultimate benefit and use of the claimant and is and was at all material times the property of the claimant”. According to the NGC, its internal auditors abided by a Code of Ethics taken from the Institute of Internal Auditors, which requires that, amongst other things, that internal auditors apply and uphold principles of confidentiality. “The requirements of confidentiality which are imposed on internal auditors, including the claimant’s internal auditors, emanate from a number of facts, which include the fact that internal auditors are given virtually unlimited access to records and information relevant to the performance of their duties, as well as the fact that internal auditors are required to analyse and report on sensitive issues with a view to recommending measures that could be taken to improve the client’s governance, risk management and control process,” it said. The NGC claimed that a very high level of confidentially “would apply more so or at least equally to unfinalised audit reports such as the Draft Audit Report and it was not approved by the company’s manager of internal audit, Rabindranath Lackhan. The NCG claims that the Sunday Express acted in “breach of confidence by disclosing and commenting upon the contents of the Draft Audit Report in its publications on the worldwide Web and its printed newspaper. “By reason of the matters aforesaid the claimant has suffered grave damage and loss, including reputational damage incurred as a result of the published Draft Audit Report and the consequent exposure of the claimant to widespread and grossly ill-formed public criticism and condemnation,” it said. “The damage to the claimant arises in large part from the irresistible inference, which the claimant will invite the court to make, that the defendant must have obtained the Draft Audit Report from an employee of the claimant or a person who had access to such an employee. The employee, former employee or person who provided the Draft Audit Report to the defendant knew or ought to have known that it was a confidential document and that they would be in breach of duty of confidentially to make available or provide it to the defendant either directly or indirectly. Further or alternatively any dissemination of same by an employee or former employee to unauthorised persons, including the defendant, either directly or indirectly, would have been in breach of that employee’s or former employee’s contractual and/or fiduciary duty,” it said. Checks by the Express at the High Court revealed that no judge or date has been set for the preliminary application to be heard.
UML wrote:No amount of PNM old talk & Propaganda can beat this PERFORMANCE
• Built 8 new police stations
......ONLY 4+years
#frothments #beatup
Repaved Southern Main Road, Couva
New Bailey Bridge, Syne Village Penal
Newly Paved Bajnath Street Penal
Repaved Old Quinam Road Penal
Newly Paved Dass Avenue Sunrees Road, Penal
WASA Hollis Trunk Main Replacement Project
WASA Hollis Trunk Main Replacement Project
Posted On 22 Mar 2013
THE ENVIRONMENT and Water Resources Minister, Senator Ganga Singh, has hailed the start of the Hollis Trunk Main Replacement Project.
The project, according to Singh, is yet another landmark achievement for the Water and Sewerage Authority, noting that “it was indicative of the resident skill and engineering capacity of the organization”.
Work has begun on a fresh phase of the project along the Priority Bus Route from Pashley Street, Laventille and will extend to El Socorro Road, San Juan. It is expected to be over a three-month time frame and would be carried out at nights, between 8 pm and 4 am, in order to minimise any disruption in vehicular traffic along the Priority Bus Route.
The entire project is scheduled to be carried out over an 18 month period.
http://unctt.org/wasa-hollis-trunk-main ... t-project/
Antilles Road San-Francique, Penal
Opening of Vistabella Bridge, Manjack Street
Repaved: Short Street, San Fernando
Morpheus wrote:LoL UML if they straighten a manhole cover you go post that too???
Morpheus wrote:LoL UML if they straighten a manhole cover you go post that too???
Morpheus wrote:LoL UML if they straighten a manhole cover you go post that too???
Casper23 wrote:Morpheus wrote:LoL UML if they straighten a manhole cover you go post that too???
Things the Government SUPPOSED to be doing, he praising. NEWSFLASH that's their job and they not working for please and thanks,they are being paid to do these things and it's their duty
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