Trinidad judge quashes permit for aluminum smelter

PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - A Trinidad and Tobago high court judge has quashed an environmental permit issued by a state agency for the construction of a 125,000-tonne aluminum smelter by government-owned Alutrint. The ruling on Tuesday by Judge Mira Dean-Armorer, in response to a request by environmental activists and opponents of the smelter project in the southeast La Brea area, temporarily halts work on what would be the first aluminum smelter on the twin-island Caribbean state. Dean-Armorer said the state Environmental Management Authority, which had issued a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) to Alutrint in 2007, had failed to take into consideration the cumulative impact of three major industrial projects, including the smelter, in the La Brea area. Besides the planned smelter, a power plant is being built there and a port facility is also planned, and the judge said all of this could affect human health and safety. Trinidad and Tobago's government said it would appeal the judge's ruling over the permit for the smelter, whose building is estimated to cost up to $600 million. China's Exim Bank is providing a credit facility of US$400 million for the project. Alutrint said it was reviewing the details of the judgment "with a view to determining future steps in managing this substantial development and its implications for the continued progress of the smelter project." One anti-smelter activist, Dr. Wayne Kubalsingh, hailed the judge's ruling as a victory. "They have to look at the concerns of the residents," he told reporters. Earlier this year, Venezuela-based aluminum producer Sural, which had a 40 percent stake in the Trinidad aluminum smelter project, withdrew due to financing problems. The Trinidad and Tobago government, which owns the remaining 60 percent, has said it is looking for a partner.