closure of movietowne in price plaza

...A big blow for Chaguanas, says economistTHE closure of MovieTowne in Price Plaza, Endeavour Road, Chaguanas, is going to be a huge loss to the Chaguanas borough and would cause serious economic fallout. So said economist Dr Indera Sagewan, as she noted that it’s a negative step in the development of the country’s business landscape.
Sagewan said the closure of the cinema and entertainment complex would have a ripple effect on businesses in and around the area, which have generated revenue from people flocking to the cinemas.
“Employees and suppliers are also going to be affected and that means the unemployment statistics would also go up. Let’s be real. We cannot expect the owner Derek Chin to absorb all the workers at the other branches, as the pandemic has disrupted the cinema industry greatly and it’s going to take a while for the industry to revitalise, post Covid-19.”
The economist explained that people living in Chaguanas who may want to head to the cinema when it reopens would now have to go either Port of Spain or South, which is a further cost in terms of gas for the car or public transportation.
Sagewan believes that the Government should open up the economy more as there are a lot of best practices that can be implemented to help prevent the spread of the virus.
“When you look at other countries, they have put mechanisms in place in order to facilitate the reopening of various sectors. But T&T seems to be stuck in this mode of waiting for the numbers to go down and more needs to be done by the Government,” Sagewan added.
Chaguanas East MP Vandana Mohit said she preferred not to comment, at this time, as the issue was a private matter between the landlord and tenant. Mohit was previously the mayor of Chaguanas.
Also commenting on the closure was Chaguanas Chamber president Vishnu Charran, who said it spells bad news for the borough as it means there is going to be less foot traffic and less revenue being earned.
“It is sad to see the cinema had to shut its doors, but I understand that the economic impact caused by Covid is very serious and things are not going to get better anytime soon.”
Charran outlined that other businesses located in Price Plaza will also feel the pinch, as there will be fewer customers coming to buy their products and more people can be on the breadline, due to this fallout.
Source: Trinidad Express, Oct 2020