Saturday, March 16 2013

Government and the EXIM Bank of China yesterday signed a $1.8 billion loan agreement for the construction of the children’s hospital and three national sports facilities in Couva, and three multi-sports facilities in other parts of the country. The total cost of the sports facilities will be $720.3 million. The other part of the $1.8 million loan will go towards the construction of the hospital.

Finance Minister Larry Howai and the bank’s vice-president, Zhu Hongjie, signed the agreement at the Trinidad Hilton, St Ann’s, Port-of-Spain

The contractor for the projects is the Shanghai Construction Group of Companies, which Zhu said “is one of the best construction companies in China. We believe that under Shanghai, the two projects will be completed on time with the quantity and quality of work required of them guaranteed,” he said.

Some 40 percent of the workmanship of the projects, he said, will be local.