Release date: 3/7/2017
Minister of Works and Transport, Senator the Honourable Rohan Sinanan visited Sou Sou Lands, and Fishing Pond Cumuto, on Sunday 5th March, 2017 with officials from the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), to work collaboratively on road rehabilitation works needed in these areas. The joint visit which coincided with the continuation of paving of 6 kilometres of road in Sou Sou Lands, was arranged by Minister Sinanan to address years of neglect and outcry from residents who have been pleading for better road conditions for the past thirty two years. Minister Sinanan expressed his concern that resources were not being maximised in a holistic approach and that minor road re-patches were being done following WASA operations without attention to major roads in its entirety. During the tour of the North-Eastern communities, Minister Sinanan also indicated that MOWT and WASA have begun to coordinate projects to reduce the level of repetition by both organizations noting that there is still a lot of improvement to be done. Accompanying the Honourable Minister on the tour was Mr. Navin Ramsingh, Ag. Director of Highways-MOWT; Mr. Hayden Phillip, Programme Director-PURE, MOWT; Mr. Alan Poon King Ag. CEO- WASA; and Mr. Romney Thomas, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners-WASA. ABOUT THE SOU SOU LANDS PROJECT The Sou Sou Lands Project which is expected to be completed by April 2017 and has been thirty-two (32) years in the making. For years, the roads have been impassable and unpaved. Works on the network of roads in the Sou Sou Lands Community began in December 2016 under the purview of the Programme or Upgrading Roads Efficiency (PURE) Unit, and will continue on a phased basis. To date, three drainage projects have been completed. This road is expected to ease a lot of burdens on at least fifteen hundred (1500) residents in the area. Minister Sinanan was on site to experience the start of the repaving exercise project which he made a commitment to address. This is his third visit to the area since becoming Minister of Works and Transport in November, 2016. Minister Sinanan understands the need for constant improvement, extension and maintenance of the nation’s roads and has made a commitment to address those issues across Trinidad and Tobago.