Bowen Marine, Western Main Road, Chaguaramas
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By Boswell John - 1998
The Chaguaramas Development Authority (C.D.A.)
In 1972, by Act of Parliament #37, the Chaguaramas Development Authority was established and charged with the development of Chguaramas. Also in 1972, the Chaguaramas Development Project was initiated. This was a joint project between the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It had as its objective to determine the economic feasibility of a relatively large-scale, highly mechanized sytem of local production of corn, soya and gorghum, which are required for livestock feeds and to produce (I) locally adopted varieties of the above crops and (II) seeds of certain legumes and vegetables to meet the local demand of farmers. The main crops considered are pigeon pea, red kidney bean, black-eye pea, snap bean, cream pea,and Soya bean.
In the initial year, a total of 128,131 lbs. of corn and 3,360 lbs. of Soya was produced.
There have been at least 7 comprehensive plans for the development of the area:
- The Chaguaramas Action Plan,1968
- Chaguaramas-Planning for Development,1974
- Chaguaramas Summary of Development proposals,1975
- A suggested land use policy for Chaguaramas,1984
- Chaguaramas Draft Development Plan,1988
Chaguaramas Development Authority:
- Financial Perspective- Action Plan,1922-1991
- Chaguaramas Development Authority Strategic Plan,1995-2000
In 1984, Mr. St.C. C. Cooper was commissioned to do a report for the Authority. The result was ' A Suggested Land Policy for Chaguaramas'. In this report, Mr Cooper examined various allocations of lands by the Authority. He found that the most significant allocation of land during the occupation was the leasing of approximately 44 acres of water front land in 1942 to Chaguaramas terminals at an annual rental of TT$2,112 for 99 years. Next was the allocation of 6¼ acres of coastal land to SKILLCO for marine-oriented industry such as boat building, marine shops, etc.
In 1965, 20 acres were allocated for approximately 30 years to Swan Hunter at a minimum annual rental of TT$15,000 plus 2% on the minimum gross turn-over in any financial year in excess of $50,0000 and up to $1,000,000 and 1% in excess of $1,000,000.
In 1969, 24 bungalows on 12 acres of land for TT$35,000 per annum were leased to Sea Island Development Company Ltd. for 50 years. In 1972, Bowen Boats were permitted a huge military building on 2 acres of land without a formal lease or tenancy agreement.
The years 1973 and 1975 saw the allocation of land to the Fisheries Department, The Salt Company, the Central Marketing Agency and the Industrial Development Corporation. The salt company got 1.9 acres of waterfront land at a rental of TT$5,370 per annum. In 1974, the Ministry of National Security occupied 30 houses at TT$30,000 per annum inclusive of three residences at Macqueripe, a gymnasium, a house, and the top floor of building C-40 for TT$270,000.
In 1976, Island Properties Association occupied 2 acres, 34 perches without any formal agreement and no rent paid. Nineteen hundred and seventy seven saw the National Archives occupying a military building on 2 acres of land for which no formal agreement exists and no rent was paid. Also in 1977 Sharc Sound Services leased 2.75 acres of land with building for 10 years at a rental value of TT$37,800 per annum.
In 1978, Trinidad Distillers were allotted 1.2 acres at a rental value of TT$100,000 per annum. This was subsequently raised to $120,000. Also in 1978, the School Nutrition Company occupied extensive facilities at a value of $144,000. Nineteen hundred and seventy eight also saw Town and Country Planning Department occupying 16,611 square feet of office space at a cost of $192,000. The Telephone Company occupied 2 facilities at a cost of $25,620.
In 1979, Halliburton Company was granted 10,000 square feet at an annual rent of TT$300,000. In 1981, Tenneco oil allotted 287 acres of waterfront land at a rental value of TT$29,925 per annum for 5 years. In 1981, Omego Fabricon was given a short term tenancy - 2 acres for TT$100,000 per annum and also Supermix Feeds, a month-to-month tenancy on 4.2 acres for TT$67.200. Casper Grande got a little over ½ acre for TT$66,000. The Hotel School occupies the former American hospital at a rental of TT$96.000 per annum.
The final major asset of the authority was the 1,600 acres of Class 1 agricultural land informally allocated at no cost to the government. It is instructive to note that the consultant found all of these rentals to be woefully inadequate.
SUMMARY
This chapter attempted to show the change in the use of the land. Prior and up to the arrival of the Americans, it was almost exclusively agricultural. With the construction of the United States base, the use changed. With the departure of the Americans, commercial entities entered upon the land. Former American buildings were used to house most of the new enterprises. The Agricultural project was the only new project which utilized the prime soil of the area. This eventually failed through a large incident of praedial larceny and inefficient management.
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