Couva
Couva is a 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.
History
The first British map of Trinidad, made in 1797 after the island was surrendered by Spain, suggested the existence of a river in the area now known as Couva called "Rio de Cuba". Over time, perhaps due to the Spanish "B" having a sound similar to that of the letter "V" in English, the river became known as "Rio de Couva", which was eventually translated as "Couva River". British settlement of what is now referred to as Couva began a little to the north of the mouth of this river.For many years, the village was little more than a clearing in a sugarcane field. Its population was mainly indentured workers of Indian origin with a smaller number of former African slaves and numbered no more than a few hundred. This all changed with the arrival of the railway to Couva in 1880. By 1921, it had grown to a population of 2,667, but in the decade leading up to 1931, this number fell to 1,895. During World War II, the Camden Auxiliary Air Base was established as an emergency airstrip. It included one paved by runway with extensive taxiways and dispersed camouflaged parking bays for the USAAC, USN, and RN. It was defended by US Army infantry and AAA units.
Couva continued to grow in size, with the national census recording a figure of 3,572 persons in 1980. Historically, the majority of its people have worked on the nearby sugar estates, but due to its strategic location, many residents have found employment with the oil refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre, only 13 km away and at the Point Lisas industrial estate located west of the town centre.
Couva was profoundly affected by the closure of Caroni Ltd. in the early 2000s, particularly its residents who worked on the nearby sugarcane estates and the associated small and medium enterprises that supported this industry. Since this period, the town has recovered through use of the now-open sugar lands for new housing and business initiatives. Consequently, while the nearby town of Chaguanas has evolved and expanded significantly to become the de facto administrative and commercial capital of central Trinidad, Couva's character has changed to become a magnet for industrialisation, commercial, sports, health, education, aviation, and residential projects.
Climate
The climate of Couva is tropical, more specifically tropical monsoon, with a short dry season February to April and a lengthy wet season May to January. Temperatures vary little between the wet and dry seasons.Development and demise of the sugar production industry
In 1937, two major developments occurred on the sugar lands of Central Trinidad. One was the formation of the All Trinidad Sugar Estates Factory Workers Trade Union, which for the first time gave representation to many thousands of sugar workers who had revolted in 1935, 1936, and 1937 against slave conditions on the sugar estates. Under the leadership of Adrian Cola Rienzi, they transformed the nature of the industry.At the same time, Caroni was created when Tate and Lyle, a British multinational company, bought our Caroni Sugar Estates Ltd making a conglomerate that included Waterloo on the western coast and Brechin Castle in Couva. By 1940, the landscape of its headquarters, Brechin Castle, was changed by the construction of the factory and the four cooling ponds at the back, as well as major company offices, the dispensary, Sevilla School, Sevilla Club, and residences for mainly expatriate senior staff.
In 1960, Caroni bought out Usine Ste. Madeleine factory, which had grown considerably since its founding in 1870. In 1975, the state bought the conglomerate, calling it Caroni Ltd, which continued producing sugar, but went into diversification, producing citrus, prawns, large and small ruminants, and rice.
By the end of the 20th century, as oil became increasingly significant, the sugar industry and agriculture generally sank into a low second place until the state closed down Caroni Ltd in 2003, retrenching 9,000 workers directly and a further 35,000 who were indirectly dependent on the industry. Consequently, just over of land became available for other uses.
Establishment of Point Lisas
Point Lisas is a petrochemical and heavy industrial estate clustered around a series of port facilities on Trinidad's sheltered western coastline. Construction of major plants in the estate began in the 1970s. Since then, the Point Lisas industrial estate has been a major success story in Trinidad and Tobago's recent economic history, and the development of natural gas-based industry on the estate has been a major impetus for the transformation of Trinidad and Tobago into a gas-based economy. The location at Point Lisas was chosen due to the nature of the coastline and crucially the availability of large tracts of flat, undeveloped land next to the coast. This landholding belonged to Caroni Ltd, at that time a private company owned by Tate and Lyle in London.The "estate" is now home to over 90 companies, e.g. YARA, Phoenix Park Gas Processors Ltd., PLIPDECO, and Methanex. This includes the world's largest methanol plant, along with five additional plants, produces about 13% of global methanol output. National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago was founded alongside this as an aggregator and distributor of feedstock provided by the upstream. The idea behind NGC was to consolidate supply and provide guaranteed distribution to the various consumers at the end of its pipeline network. The elimination of large contracts between upstream and downstream created an efficient system of gas flow on which the estate was fed.
Urban structure
Couva is about 15 km from San Fernando, 10 km from Chaguanas, and 30 km from Port of Spain. It has a general east–west orientation and sprawls the Caroni Central plains with a constant north-easterly wind.Couva benefits immensely from its unique location. The Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway ensures easy access to Port of Spain and San Fernando, in addition to the neighbouring towns of Chaguanas, Arima, and Point Fortin. Transportation, public-service utilities, shopping, recreation and entertainment, health care, businesses, schools, and tndustrial centres are readily accessible.
The urban structure of Couva is similar to that of most towns in central Trinidad, with a mix of residential and commercial activity within the town centre itself, i.e. along the Southern Main Road. Recently, though, people have begun buying land and starting their businesses outside of the town centre areas in the communities of Balmain, Exchange, Point Lisas, McBean, and Camden.
Couva's major urban areas are downtown Couva, McBean Village, Balmain including Central Park, Isaac Settlement, Lisas Gardens construction by the government, Exchange Lots, California, Camden, and Couva North Gardens and Roystonia.
Phases 1–3 of the Couva North Housing Project was built by the Trinidad and Tobago Housing Development Corporation, and like Lisas Gardens, is primarily Afro-Trinidadian. The HDC entered into a joint-venture arrangement with the private sector to design, finance, and construct Phases 4–6 of the Couva North Housing Project, also known as Roystonia. Under this arrangement, the development of over of land, from Perseverance to the Southern Main Road, has been constructed and delivered in excess of 1,000 homes. This development has attracted primarily Indo-Trinidadian of middle income or upper-middle income background into the Couva area. These new communities have profoundly changed the character of the town and significantly increased its overall population. The community is located east of Perseverance/Waterloo Main Road, west of the Southern Main Road, north of Southern Main Road/Carli Bay Road, and south of the Exchange Road, Couva.
Also, substantial residential developments are in progress within the Couva region on former Caroni Ltd. lands. Consequently, the current services within Couva are under strain and are in state of transition or expansion to incorporate the new influx of residential activity.
Areas in Couva
Couva consists of these main population centres:Communities
- Downtown Couva
- Point Lisas
- California
- Balmain
- Preysal
- McBean
- Orange Valley
- St. Andrew
- Exchange
- Camden
- Roystonia
- Couva Village Plaza
- Couva North Gardens
- Perseverance
- Sevilla
- Brechin Castle
- Indian Trail
- Issac Settlement
- Calcutta Settlement
- Union Village
- Basta Hall
- Felicity Hall
- Esperanza
- Carolina
- Milton
- Dow Village
- Savonetta
- Shashamane
- Phoenix Park
- Windsor Park
- Central Park
- Vista Park
- Olive Grove Estates
- Lisas Gardens
Beaches and bays
- Carli Bay
- Lisas Bay
- Congrejas Bay
- Margaret Bay
Electoral districts
Economy
Couva is the administrative and commercial centre of the region and the Point Lisas Port and Industrial Estate falls within the greater Couva urban area. By 2011, Couva had the highest number of businesses in the region. With the closure of Caroni Limited and the resultant decline in sugarcane production, more lands in the greater Couva area will be under pressure for residential, commercial, and industrial expansion.The main economic sectors in the region are:
- Commercial business activities largely restricted to retail trade
- Industrial development based on the existence of cement manufacturing in Claxton Bay by the Trinidad Cement Limited, petrochemical related industries at Point Lisas, Petrotrin’s oil refinery operations at Pointe-à-Pierre, and other small light industry parks established by the Evolving Tecknologies and Enterprise Development Company
- Agricultural activities comprising livestock rearing, mixed agriculture, and other agriculture
The town is served by all the major banks in Trinidad, e.g. Scotiabank, First Citizens Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Republic Bank, and also the Unit Trust Corporation. Inclusive of these banks, there are numerous credit unions currently existing in Couva, e.g. TECU, Venture Credit Union etc.
In addition, six beaches are in the region, where significant amounts and value of fish are landed. These beaches are Brickfield, Claxton Bay, Carli Bay, Orange Valley, St. Margaret Bay, and Waterloo.