WORKS and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan dismissed claims from Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram about a shortage of bitumen in TT.

He did so during a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Ratiram claimed there had been a shortage of bitumen since the closure of Petrotrin's Pointe-a-Pierre refinery in November 2018.

Sinanan reminded him that bitumen was a by-product at the refinery and Trinidad Lake Asphalt paid Petrotrin to receive it.

Committee chairman, House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George told Ratiram, "We are not here talking about Petrotrin."

She added, "The question that you asked has been answered and I'm not going to allow further discussion about Petrotrin, under this item."

Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein asked where Lake Asphalt sourced bitumen from.

Sinanan replied, "Right now the market is open. So anybody, whether it's Lake Asphalt and the contractors or anybody who wants bitumen could buy it from any source as it is available.

He added, "Bitumen comes in from several sources."

Sinanan said it had been happening for the last 40 years.

"It is not a new thing."

He reiterated that Lake Asphalt was in the process of being reorganised.

Up to 2022, Sinanan continued, said the company's expenditure exceeded its revenue.

He recalled that Lake Asphalt made significant profits in the past from selling products from the Pitch Lake in La Brea.

Sinanan said the company drifted away from its moorings over time and its reorganisation was an attempt to return it to those moorings.

At a PNM meeting in Diego Martin on April 5, 2022, the Prime Minister said the company was placed under the Works and Transport Ministry, with the National Infrastructure Development Company being its operating agency.

Dr Rowley said Lake Asphalt’s revenue was negatively affected by the closure of Petrotrin in November 2018, since much of that revenue came from selling bitumen from the Petrotrin refinery. Bitumen is a by-product of the crude oil refining process and is used as a binder to hold asphalt together.

Rowley also said a new business model would be created to make the company sustainable

On Tuesday, the committee later approved an allocation of $358,779,000 for the Planning and Development Ministry.

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