And the man the CEO answers to is Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, Landy Habet.
Even though the Portico Environmental Compliance Plan says that the seabed will be used for, quote, "construction of the artificial peninsula, structures associated with the land creation activities, retreat island, jetties, over-the-water structures, access channel and beach nourishment" - Minister Habet had a far more benign interpretation:
Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir, but then if we could ask you your opinion though as the Minister of the Environment on Portico's intention to create land on the seabed, in that particular area, how do you feel about that?"
Orlando Habet, Minister Of Sustainable Development Climate Change, Disaster Risk Management
"Um, so I think if to answer the question I think it's not to create land on the seabed but to use the seabed really to get the materials to create sort of a what we term as sea reclamation so that they can build on it and then create the island or whatever it is that they will do, um, I think all of the large projects such as this one will have the same request to do the dredging so that they can create the area where they will do their construction, um, really and truly that is not under the purview of our Ministry, it is under the purview of the Ministry of Natural resources so they have to get a mining permit and so when NEAC meets I think they have a representative from the mining unit and so the representative would have to come with that authority, certainly. To be able to make a decision and to make a recommendation to NEAC, within NEAC proper so that that recommendation can come to the Department of the Environment. If that person is absent for that meeting then I imagine that what we would have to do would be the proper thing to do is to request a meeting with the people from mining or when they would make thier recommendation is saying well before you start any construction you have to go to the Ministry of Natural resources mining unit to get a permit before you do any type of dredging."
"I think that we have to be open, the developers will come in with their proposals our responsibility is to look at it and review it through the Department of the Environment, submit it to NEAC, NEAC makes the recommendations and then if they say yes or no then that is the way we go."
"They had received their ECP, I think it is in a phased approach so the department will have to look at it, look at phase one and if they do their compliance on phase one then they can get permission to proceed to the second phase until, I think it's 5 phases before they would be able to complete their project."
