Business Expansion and Industrial Restructuring Project

closed

This project promotes development and/or restructuring of private manufacturing or service firms, especially in entering and competing in export markets. The project includes components for productive sector credit and technical assistance. The credit component will help private enterprises finance a wide range of investments, including plant and equipment, incremental working capital, and technical services related to development of productive activities within a liberalized incentive regime. Technical assistance will be provided to: (a) establish an export technical assistance facility to assist private manufacturing and service firms to enter extra-CARICOM markets; (b) enable the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards and the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute to provide industry with internationally-recognized industrial standards, quality management, metrology, and testing services; (c) develop improved environmental pollution control standards for evaluating investment proposals, and strenghten the Town and Country Planning Division's capacity to review environmental impact assessments; and (d) finance studies to build the government's understanding of the organizational and ownership options and review the effectiveness of new foreign investment regime; and (e) assist the Ministry of Finance to strengthen the regulatory framework for the insurance industry.