00:00Steel is big. If we're going to, listen, we aren't going to go to Grenada and they send in Benny
00:11Ball and Tamron Ball to crucial people.
00:16You aren't going to diversify the economy like that. You have to go for the big player. The big ticket
00:21one is steel.
00:22Trade Investment and Tourism Minister Sati Kiyam Amaraj speaking about the recent Memorandum of Understanding for the reopening of the
00:30steel plant at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate by U.S.-based Pinnacle Steel and Vanadium Corporation.
00:37We have targets for export. We have targets for investment. 2 billion in exports, new exports in 2 years and
00:535 billion in the next 5 years and 3 billion in investments U.S. in 2 years and 9 billion
01:01in 5 years.
01:03We didn't pull it out of our hat. We know how we're going to do it.
01:07And one of the most significant ways we targeted that was the reopening of the steel mill.
01:20Minister Maraj was speaking during the Trade Ministry's diversification and action consultation at the Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce Auditorium.
01:28He recalled the history of the steel plant from the late 1980s with regard to the iron and steel company
01:34of Trinidad and Tobago, Eskot and Caribbean Espat Limited.
01:39The government of Trinidad and Tobago sold Eskot to Espat.
01:45You know that, right?
01:47So that became a private company.
01:51Nothing to do with government.
01:53I see the, you know, I see the papers, people talking all.
01:55There is not a public government.
01:57That's a private company.
01:59Espat, Eslita, Assomital.
02:03That's a private transaction.
02:07That, Assomital, went into receivership.
02:10The creditors took them to court and the court appointed liquidators.
02:17The Trade and Investment Minister spoke about the efforts undertaken by the government since the 2025 general election to get
02:24the steel plant reopened.
02:25When we realized that the liquidators puff in the chest like they get a good feeling and we get a
02:35good feeling, we went from weekly updates to daily updates.
02:39That is how we pursue this investment.
02:42And today we have signed a memorandum of understanding.
02:46In a recent statement, the Trade, Investment and Tourism Ministry said that with an initial investment of U.S. $250
02:53million,
02:54the project will support the production of iron, steel and the critical minerals, vanadium and titanium,
03:02while creating an estimated 350 construction jobs and 500 operational jobs.
03:09Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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