HDI The HDI for Trinidad and Tobago is 0.814, which gives the country a rank of 19th out of 177 countries with data (2007/2008) – high
The Borough of Chaguanas is the largest municipality[4] (83,489 at the 2011 census) and fastest-growing[5][6] town in Trinidad and Tobago. Located in west-central Trinidad, south of Port of Spain, north of Couva and San Fernando, and named after the indigenous tribe who originally settled there, it grew in size due to its proximity to the Woodford Lodge sugar refinery. It remained a minor town until the 1980s when it began to grow rapidly as it drew people for its bargain shopping and moderately priced housing. Its rapid growth has seen property values increase dramatically, however.[5]
Chaguanas was named for the Chaguanes Amerindian tribe.[8] The area was settled by the time of the British conquest of Trinidad in 1797 (see History of Trinidad and Tobago). The town originated on what was then H.E. Robinson's sugar estate adjacent to the Woodford Lodge sugar refinery and the De Verteuil coconut and cocoa estate to the north and east. In its early days the inhabitants, most of them of Indian descent, called the town Chauhan, after the Chauhan Dynasty of India from medieval times.[9] The estate was sold over to the now defunct Caroni (1975) Ltd when sugar was the main export commodity for Trinidad and Tobago, and was part of the Woodford Lodge Estate, which is home to several buildings, including the homes of several ex-Caroni workers. Construction of the Trinidad Government Railway helped the town grow.
The Princess Margaret Highway, built by the Naval Base Trinidad military during World War II, joined the Southern Main Road at Chaguanas. Construction of the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway extended the highway south to San Fernando. The Carlsen Air Force Base was a former United States Army Air Forces World War II airbase constructed in Carlsen Field in 1942, consisting of two landing strips, "Edinburgh" and "Xerxes". The airbase also included an emergency landing strip, "Tobago". Edinburgh Field became the principal combat base for USAAF bombers and Naval airships on Trinidad as well as Navy fighters with a complex of runways and taxiways that surpassed even Waller Field. This lasted until 3 November 1943 when, it was renamed Carlsen Field. It was also used by the Royal Air Force and was defended by US Army infantry and AA units. When the Navy began lighter-than-air operations in the Caribbean in the fall of 1943, the 80th Seabees were brought in to build a station at Carlsen Field. To supplement the eight Army-owned buildings taken over by the Navy, the 80th Battalion built a large, steel blimp hangar, a mooring circle, paved runways, a helium-purification plant, and other operational appurtenances. The facility was formally disestablished on 1950, and today the former air and naval airship base has been turned into a dairy and agricultural area south of Chaguanas and is all but unrecognisable. Much of the former airfield area is owned by National Flour Mills (NFM) and the only remnants of the base are the name of the area in south Chaguanas, along with streets named "Edinburgh" and "Xerxes".
In the later 20th century Chaguanas grew rapidly as a bazaar town. The construction of Lange Park in the early 1980s attracted a middle-class community moving south from Port of Spain and the East–West Corridor and north from San Fernando. Its central location made it attractive to southerners working in north Trinidad and northerners looking for more affordable homes. Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of Afro-Trinidadian persons joining the mostly Indo-Trinidadian community of Chaguanas, primarily through the construction of National Housing Authority (now the Housing Development Corporation) residential housing, such as Edinburgh 500. Orchard Gardens was constructed as an upper middle class community, and Lange Park (which originally and continues to have a number of civil servants) gradually gentrified.
Also, despite Couva's historical legacy within the Caroni County, as Chaguanas has evolved and expanded significantly to become the de facto administrative and commercial capital of Central Trinidad, Couva's character has now changed to become a magnet for industrialisation, sports, health, education, commercial, aviation and residential activities.
In October 1990 Chaguanas was elevated to the status of borough under the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act No. 21 of 1990.[6]
Geography
Chaguanas is low-lying and is just upstream from the Caroni Swamp. The Caparo River runs through the town. The Chaguanas Main Road runs East to West from Felicity to Longdenville. The Southern Main Road (SMR) from Busy Corner (part of which includes the Chaguanas Main Road from Busy Corner to Montrose Junction) runs south to San Fernando. The North-South Highways begins and ends at the flyover in Chaguanas, just east of the SMR West of the SMR, Perseverance Road continues south from Railway Road onto Orange Field Road.
Climate
Chaguanas has a lowland seasonal tropical climate with a wet season lasting from June to November and a dry season lasting from January to May. Unlike Port of Spain, Chaguanas has a usually hot and sweltering climate year round, with an exception for the wet season.
Urban structure
Chaguanas is bounded to the north by Munroe Road, to the east by the Gandia River, to the south by the Honda River and to the west by the Gulf of Paria.
Chaguanas consists of the following main population centres:
Downtown Chaguanas – the original core town of Chaguanas and modern central business district; lies west of the Solomon Hochoy Highway.
Montrose – primarily commercial district east of the Solomon Hochoy Highway.
Edinburgh 500 and other related developments – south of Montrose.
Edinburgh Village – south of downtown Chaguanas Area. There are two villages between downtown Chaguanas and Bagna Trace/Carlsen Field triangle roundabout on the Southern Main Rd. – Edinburgh Village and Chase Village. Boundary is defined by the Caparo River south-to-river just south of Chandernagore Rd, Chase Village continues further south to triangle and onwards. Edinburgh Village contains housing areas Edinburgh Gardens Phases 1, 2, and 3.
Lange Park – north of Montrose and south of Endeavour, east of Orchard Gardens and the Uriah Butler Highway.
Orchard Gardens – immediately north of the downtown and west of the Uriah Butler Highway.
Charlieville – lies on both sides of the Uriah Butler Highway, northeast of Felicity.
Felicity – lies further north and west of the downtown, east and south of the Caroni Swamp.
Endeavour – northeast of Orchard Gardens, north of Lange Park.
Enterprise – east of Endeavour and north of Longdenville
Longdenville – east of Montrose.
Cunupia – population centre to the northeast Chaguanas, north of Enterprise.
Carlsen Field – a former U.S. airbase to the south of Chaguanas, this area of the town is still predominantly agricultural.
Woodford Gardens- Community established in 2015 . This development has in excess off 700 lot and land earmarked for early childhood care Centre, primary school, secondary school and community Centre. This is located West of the former Caroni 1975 Ltd Woodford Lodge factory
Governance
The Chaguanas Borough Corporation (CBC) is a local government authority and was incorporated on 13 September 1990 by Municipal Corporation Act 21 of 1990. The CBC is governed by the Act 21 of 1990 of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. In 2013, the Chaguanas Borough Corporation moved into its new administrative building situated in Success Street, Woodforde Lodge.
Chaguanas Borough Council has eight electoral district councillors and four aldermen selected through a proportional representation methodology. The mayor and deputy mayor are then selected. The electoral districts are: Felicity/Endeavour; Enterprise South; Edinburgh/Longdenville; Enterprise North; Charlieville; Montrose; Monroe Road/Caroni Savannah Road; and Cunupia.
Chaguanas comprises (wholly or in part) the following parliamentary electoral districts: Chaguanas West; Chaguanas East, Couva North, Caroni Central, and Caroni East.
Economy
Market on Chaguanas Main Road
Chaguanas developed as a market town and still attracts bargain shoppers. Much of Chaguanas' development has centred around the Chaguanas Main Road where numerous shopping plazas have been constructed. The Chaguanas Main Road (east of the Chaguanas flyover) continued to develop, primarily through small and medium size businesses, to fulfill the expanding population centres.
Retail development expanded with the construction of three malls in the downtown in the 1980s (Centre City, Mid Centre and Ramsaran Plaza, later to become Centre Pointe Mall). Centre City Mall has been significantly renovated and there are future plans to expand further to become the largest mall in the Caribbean. It will feature two major buildings, one near to the Uriah Butler Highway and another close to the centre of Chaguanas, joined by an enclosed walkover above the Mulchan Seuchan Link Road.
Shopping mall on De Verteuil Street
More recently, construction of Price Plaza in Endeavour expanded upscale retail opportunities. Price Plaza includes a warehouse-style store PriceSmart, TGI Friday's and Ruby Tuesday restaurants, a food court, SuperPharm, as well as many other retail outlets. MovieTowne is situated in Price Plaza. Adjoining to the Price Plaza complex are other restaurants and bars, e.g. Woodford Cafe, Wild Olive Restaurant, and Hollywood Grill.
A new shopping complex is planned to be built in 2013–15 in the Brentwood planned housing and commercial development.
ABEL or Alstons Building Enterprises Limited is a member of the ANSA McAl Group of Companies and is situated in Longdenville. It is the largest manufacturer of clay building blocks and Metpro steel and aluminium windows and doors and Astralite and Spectra uPVC windows and doors in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Chaguanas has also developed into a financial centre. The Unit Trust Corporation (UTC), First Citizens Bank (FCB), Sagicor, Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, Scotiabank, RBTT, and the Bank of Baroda all have major corporate offices in Chaguanas.
The dissolution of the state-owned sugar company, Caroni (1975) Limited, had a profound effect on Chaguanas, since this company was a major employer.
Demographics
Chaguanas has grown rapidly from a small village to the largest borough in Trinidad and Tobago. Chaguanas has historically been considered an Indo-Trinidadian city through its original villages (such as Edinburgh village, Felicity, Charlieville, Chandernagore, Chase Village, St. Thomas, Montrose, and Endeavour), but as it has grown it has become more multi-racial. Enterprise is a historically Afro-Trinidadian village that has been absorbed into the growing city of Chaguanas. Also, Edinburgh 500 and other associated governmental housing developments are also largely Afro-Trinidadian.
The Lion House also known as Anand Bhavan, is the ancestral home of the Capildeo family and is the birthplace of Nobel Prize–winning author V.S. Naipaul is located in Chaguanas. This is generally assumed to be the model for Hanuman House in Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas, with Chaguanas as the model for Arwacas.
The Caroni Swamp, the largest mangrove wetland in Trinidad and Tobago, is located just north and west of the town. The swamp is a popular tourist attraction and roosting ground for the scarlet ibis, national bird of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Divali Nagar site, located in northern Chaguanas, is a major attraction in the period just before Diwali. The village of Felicity, on the western end of Chaguanas, is famous for its elaborate Diwali celebrations.
Media
The Trinidad Publishing Company (TTSE: TPCL), the country's oldest and most established publisher of the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, constructed its printing facility for the Newspaper division of Trinidad Publishing Company Limited, of the ANSA McAL Group's Media Sector, in the vicinity of Chaguanas flyover.
HCU Communications Limited (now defunct) was based in Chaguanas. It operated a radio station (Win Radio 101.1 FM), was home of television station (WIN TV) From early 2007, it also published three weekly newspapers, The Probe, Uhuru and Bollywood Today.
Entertainment
The town includes numerous malls (such as Price Plaza, Xtra Plaza, Mid Centre Mall & Centre Pointe Mall) and associated restaurants and bars. Also, a number of areas in Chaguanas are now quickly developing into entertainment areas, such as Rodney Road, Endeavour with The Rise, Law 5, Double R, and others.
Infrastructure
Health
The Chaguanas District Hospital is located in Montrose Chaguanas (along the Southern Main Road). Inclusive of the district health facility, a private hospital (Medical Associates) situated in the vicinity of the Chaguanas flyover was opened in 2012. Other small privately run health facilities are located throughout Chaguanas and its environs.
The Caroni County Medical Officers of Health (CMOH), of which Chaguanas falls under, is situated on the Southern Main Road in Couva. The CMOH are responsible for insect-vector control and septic leakage complaints.
Education
The Borough is host to many prominent primary and secondary schools. Notable primary schools include Montrose Vedic in Downtown Chaguanas, and Montrose Government in Lange Park.
The Presentation College, Chaguanas is a Roman Catholic secondary school in Chaguanas and is the brother school of Presentation College, San Fernando. It was regarded the best performing high school in Trinidad and Tobago throughout its history, and in particular within its recent history being awarded the country's President's medal for best performing student multiple times (5 times in a row).
The University of the West Indies (UWI) Esmond D Ramesar Open Campus will be constructed along the Narsaloo Ramaya Road in Chaguanas.
Transport
Chaguanas is an important transportation hub. Buses, taxis and maxi-taxis connect Chaguanas with Port of Spain, San Fernando, Curepe and Couva, and smaller settlements around central Trinidad.
Given the town's origin as a village and its generally unplanned rapid growth into the country's largest town (by population), Chaguanas is continuously plagued by traffic problems despite numerous attempts of alternative traffic management schemes. This traffic congestion is now considered as a threat to future growth of the Borough.
Sports
The main sporting venue in Chaguanas is the Central Regional Indoor Sport Arena Hall at Saith Park. Smaller recreation grounds (e.g. Woodforde Lodge, Avinash Samaroo ground) and cricket pitches (Pierre Road) are scattered throughout the borough, but no larger sporting venues are located within the town. The town leverages the infrastructure from other towns such as Couva's Ato Boldon Stadium or Sevilla golf course, also located in Couva.
Utilities
Electric generation is handled by Powergen, while electrical distribution is handled by the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC). Chaguanas does not contain its own power generation facilities.
Trinidad and Tobago, a country that relies heavily on industrialisation and tourism, has various transport systems.
San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando, is the most populous city and second most populous municipality in Trinidad and Tobago, after Chaguanas. Sando, as it is known to many local Trinidadians, occupies 19 km² and is located in the southwestern part of the island of Trinidad. It is bounded to the north by the Guaracara River, the south by the Oropouche River, the east by the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway, and the west by the Gulf of Paria. The former borough was elevated to the status of a city corporation on 18 November 1988. The motto of San Fernando is: "Sanitas Fortis" - In a Healthy Environment We Will Find Strength. San Fernando is called Trinidad and Tobago's "industrial capital" because of its proximity to the Pointe-à-Pierre oil refinery and many other petrochemical, LNG, iron and steel and aluminium smelters in places such as Point Lisas in Couva, Point Fortin, and La Brea.
Caroni County was a historic county of Trinidad and Tobago. It occupies 557 km2 (215 sq mi) in the west central part of the island of Trinidad, the larger island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It lies south and southwest of Saint George County, west of Nariva County and north of Victoria County. To the west it is bounded by the Gulf of Paria. County Caroni includes the towns of Chaguanas, the largest town in the country and Couva, the capital of the Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo region. Administratively it is divided between the Borough of Chaguanas, the Region of Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo and the Region of Tunapuna–Piarco. The county was divided into four Wards: Chaguanas, Couva, Cunupia and Montserrat. The major towns of County Caroni are Chaguanas and Couva. The port and industrial zone of Point Lisas is located in Caroni, and the region is also a site for agriculture.
Rudranath Capildeo was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician, mathematician and barrister. He was a member of the prominent Hindu Indo-Trinidadian Capildeo family. Capildeo was the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 1960 to 1969 and the first Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of the independent Trinidad and Tobago from 1962 to 1967. He was also a faculty member at the University of London, eventually holding the position of Reader of Mathematics. He was awarded the Trinity Cross, the nation's highest award, in 1969.
Couva is an urban town in west-central Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and Chaguanas and north of San Fernando and Point Fortin. It is the capital and main urban centre of Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, and the Greater Couva area includes the Point Lisas industrial estate and the port of Point Lisas. It is one of the fastest-growing towns in the country. Couva's southern boundary is at the village of California and Point Lisas, and to the north Couva stretches to McBean. To the east of Couva is Preysal. To the west of Couva is the road to Waterloo and Carli Bay, which are located on the Gulf of Paria. Couva was part of the Caroni County. Couva is considered a major power base for the United National Congress, whose headquarters was previously located here.
Divali Nagar is an annual exposition of Hindu culture (broadly) and Indo-Trinidadian culture (specifically), it is associated with the celebration of Diwali in Trinidad and Tobago. The exposition is staged at the Divali Nagar Site, located in the borough of Chaguanas. This event was started in the Mid Centre Mall car park in late 1986. It was given a permanent site on the John Peters Road Extension off the Uriah Butler Highway a couple of years after.
Hinduism in Trinidad and Tobago is the second largest religion. Hindu culture arrived to Trinidad and Tobago in 1845, with the arrival of the first Indian indentured laborers, the overwhelming majority of which were Hindu. According to the 2011 census there were 240,100 declared Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway, sometimes referred to as SHH, is the major north–south highway on the island of Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago. It runs for 51.2 km.
The Uriah Butler Highway, sometimes referred to as UBH, is one of the major north–south highways on Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago.
Simbhoonath Capildeo was a prominent lawyer and politician in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the elder brother of Rudranath Capildeo and uncle of Nobel laureate Sir Vidia "V. S." Naipaul and Shiva Naipaul. He was father to two sons, Surendranath and Devendranath Capildeo and a daughter, Sita Capildeo. Capildeo was one of the founding members of the Democratic Labour Party and a member of parliament from 1956 to 1966, becoming known as "the Lion of the Legislative Council". He served as the acting Leader of the Opposition for Bhadase Sagan Maraj and Rudranath Capildeo. Capildeo was also an important leader of the Hindu community in Trinidad and played in role in the foundation of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha. In 1989 he was awarded the Chaconia Gold Medal by the Trinidad and Tobago government, honoring his service to the country.
Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo is one of the nine regions of Trinidad and Tobago, and one of the five regions which form the Gulf of Paria coastline on Trinidad's West Coast. Its regional capital and commercial center is Couva. Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo is the third-largest of Trinidad and Tobago's nine regions, with an area of 723 square kilometres (300 sq mi). As of 2011, the population was 178,410. The region is the second-most populous and fourth-least-densely populated region in Trinidad with 247 inhabitants per square kilometre (640/sq mi).
The Southern Main Road is a major road in Trinidad and Tobago running from Curepe in the north through Chaguanas, Couva, San Fernando, and Point Fortin to Icacos in the southwest, over a now discontinuous length of 120 km.
General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 5 November 2007. Nomination day was 15 October. Five parties contested the elections; the ruling People's National Movement, the official opposition United National Congress–Alliance, the Congress of the People, the Tobago United Front–Democratic Action Congress and the Democratic National Assembly. Five independent candidates also ran.
At the ceremonial opening of the Tenth Republican Parliament on June 18, 2010, the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced that the date for the 2010 Local Elections was to be on July 26, 2010.
The Capildeo family is an Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian family of Hindu pundits, politicians, and writers. The most notable members are 2001 Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul and mathematician and politician Rudranath Capildeo. The ancestral home of the Capildeo family is known as Anand Bhavan and is in Chaguanas, Caroni County, Trinidad and Tobago. No-one today knows how the name Kapil transformed into Capildeo. It is possible that Kapil added dev, meaning God, from his village's name of Mahadeva Dubey to his name. Transliteration from Hindi to English was not well developed in the 19th century and words were spelt differently then from the way they are now. Thus, Kapil was changed to Capil and dev to deo, giving Kapil's descendants the surname of Capildeo.
Lange Park is the oldest planned premium residential community in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago.
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