President Bharrat Jagdeo and Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar are expected to meet today in the Twin-Island republic to discuss several issues including the possibility of an aluminium smelter originally proposed for the southwestern Trinidad town of La Brea being built here.

A report in yesterday’s Trinidad Express stated that Jagdeo was expected in Trinidad last evening and that he would be meeting with Persad-Bissessar today at 3 pm. The discussions were expected to revolve around the aluminium smelter, ethanol and hydro-electricity, the article said.  The article quoted sources as saying that Persad-Bissessar wants to examine the feasibility of relocating the aluminium smelter plant to Guyana, during her meeting with Jagdeo.

The US$400 million project has been stalled in Trinidad & Tobago pending the outcome of an appeal. The High Court found that the Certificate of Environmental Clearance given by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) was deficient because it failed to consider several things.  According to the article, the EMA has appealed this judgment and the decision by the Appeal court is pending.

A senior government official confirmed yesterday that a meeting between the President and the recently elected Trinidadian Prime Minister is scheduled for today. The official said that the President would visit while on his way back from Canada and said that the meeting would be “wide-ranging”.  The source also confirmed that the possible establishment of the aluminium smelter plant would be one of the things on the agenda.  Stabroek News also understands that the Head of State also intends to raise issues related to agriculture with Persad-Bissessar.

The article in the Express noted that Guyana has vast amounts of land space and that the country produces bauxite, the raw material from which aluminum is made.  The article noted that it was because Trinidad & Tobago possessed natural gas, a key ingredient in the process of aluminium production, that it first embarked on this process.  There has been a very vocal anti-smelter lobby in Trinidad and Tobago, which has been resolute in its opposition to the establishing of such a plant in the country, the article noted.

The current government in the Twin-Island republic, during the election campaign, had pledged not to go ahead with the establishment of the plant in the country. The Express quoted the Housing Minister Roodal Moonilal as saying that there would be no smelter until all the parties involved in the dispute could arrive at a consensus on the need for such a development policy and assure the nation on the health and safety issues involved.

The Express in their article pointed to sources who said that the cancellation of the project would cost the country dearly.  The previous Manning-led administration had entered into several agreements, including a loan agreement with the Exim Bank of China worth US$400 million to facilitate the construction of the project.

The government of Guyana has long spoken about developing a new smelter in the country and had encouraged overseas investors to pursue such projects.

Chinese company Bosai Minerals Group has previously signalled its intention to invest US$1 billion in an alumina refinery and aluminium smelter.

In November 2008, the government and the head of Bosai Minerals Group signed an agreement, to permit Bosai to conclude a feasibility study to determine the financial and economic attractiveness of establishing a one-million-tonne per year alumina plant in Linden.

Previously in January 2007, the administration had entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Russian bauxite giant RUSAL to pursue the development of an alumina plant and smelter. A release from the Privatisation Unit noted that these projects were subject to feasibility studies and that favourable results could see the construction starting by 2011.