Indian steel giant withdraws Trinidad refinery bid

Seething with rage, Trinidadian Prime Minister Keith Rowley has blamed what he called an irresponsible opposition for driving away an Indian company which had signaled an interest in reviving a mothballed, lifeline oil refinery, thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in downstream investments.

Naveen Jindal, Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited had visited the southern Caribbean federation state with Tobago earlier this year, reciprocating a trip by Rowley to India seeking investment support to revive the Petrotrin Oil Refinery that the very Rowley administration had closed back in late 2018 because of abysmal unprofitability. Thousands had lost jobs when the facility which had sold refined oil to many neighboring Caribbean countries had shuttered its doors, taking with it all the money from support services in southern Trinidad.

A very disappointed and angry Rowley told a political constituency meeting in the past week that withering criticism of the project and attacks on Jindal by the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) party of former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had driven away a once in a lifetime economic opportunity in the aftermath of failed bids by other ambitious but less financially able investors. Rowley says the Jindal group is one of India’s leading industrial companies with investments of more than $25 billion. Its global wingspan touches operations in steel, mining, power and infrastructure with links to Australia, the Middle East and Africa.

“This is an investor who was prepared to consider putting in a bid in the offer of approximately US$700 million to bring that refinery into operation, and the only people in this country who don’t want that to happen is a handful of politicians who don’t care if you eat the bread the devil knead because they prefer to have the refinery there talking stupidness about it than to see it re-started and operated in a different way for the benefit of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. When Mr. Jindal came he was the one who thought it was interesting and he had until July 31 to put in the proposal. He came, he visited and he left. And the opposition leader launched an attack on Naveen Jindal. All that happened is that a number of Trinidad and Tobago politicians launched an attack on Naveen Jindal personally. This is a man who is chairing a conglomerate that produces 40% of India’s steel and has investments around the world,” Rowley stated.

Just days before the end of July deadline, Jindal wrote to Rowley formally withdrawing plans to bid for the refinery and expressing hurt at the attacks on his person by politicians in Trinidad. He blamed the political atmosphere for the decision.

“It is with great disappointment, therefore, that I must address the reaction led by the official opposition party following our visit. The character assassination I experienced merely for considering the investment opportunity in the Guaracara Refinery was deeply disheartening and discouraging. Moreover, the unjust attacks directed at our groups, companies, entities that operate independently, and are unconnected to legal matters mischaracterized in the local press and parliament set a troubling precedent for potential investors planning to invest in Trinidad and Tobago. From our organization’s point of view, these actions by the purported government in waiting raise serious concerns as they represent an element of risk and potential instability that is incompatible with providing a predictable and secure investment climate. “He said the attacks had shaken confidence” forcing management to “reassess the viability of proceeding with a formal bid for the refinery at this time.”

Some local politicians including Senator Wade Mark and analysts have scoffed at Rowley’s interpretation of events, suggesting instead that Jindal and his group had used opposition unease with the project as an excuse to quit given the state of the refinery. Mark said the government had not properly probed the background of the Jindal group as it has some integrity issues with Indian law enforcement.”

“I am not casting any aspersions on anyone but I find it strange that the government of this country find themselves being associated with some very questionable and suspicious characters and companies whose track records in terms of performance leaves a lot to be desired. It is our duty and responsibility as the opposition and the alternative government and the government in waiting to raise issues surrounding the public interest. We are standing in a gap between a corrupt, lying and thieving administration and the people’s welfare, safety and security in T&T.”