A review of the causes of recent problems in the construction industry of Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

The rise in the price of oil in the early 1970s provided Trinidad and Tobago with the wealth to finance a dramatic push for development. Much of the development programme that was launched involved construction work. The industry was soon overwhelmed with work, and for various reasons its performance deteriorated rapidly. In order to try and improve the situation, the government decided to let all of its major projects t o foreign engineering, firms. Although the main intention was to complete important public works as expeditiously as possible, it was also hoped that the local, firms would learn-by-example from having internationally recognized firms working in their midst. The government was to be disappointed on both counts. Whilst some of the reasons for the continued poor performance of the construction industry can be put down to physical circumstances beyond its control, there were, and are, other factors at work which the industry has allowed to develop and handicap itself.