Arawak Cement’s future hangs in the balance

Some 200 employees of Arawak Cement plant await the decision of a high-level team from parent company Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) on the future of the cement plant on based in St Lucy in Barbados.

TCL chairman, Wilfred Espinet, confirmed that after the parent company’s shareholders’ annual general meeting in July, the board of directors and TCL management will focus on Arawak. Espinet explained that after successful negotiations with creditors, the company was able to pay off its debts with a US$245m bridging loan.

Global cement company Cemex has been given a more prominent role in TCL’s operations after the former chief executive officer, Dr Rollin Bertrand, was fired along with most members of the board of directors in October 2014.