In a landmark move to streamline business operations and stimulate economic growth, Trinidad and Tobago’s House of Representatives has passed the Public Health (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, 2026, which eliminates the routine separate approval requirement from County Medical Officers of Health (CMOH) in the national construction permitting process. The legislation, which received unanimous cross-party support including backing from the opposition, targets long-standing delays that have hampered the country’s construction sector for years.
Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development Kennedy Swaratsingh, who presented the bill to parliament, laid out extensive data demonstrating how the CMOH approval step had become a major bottleneck in the development approval pipeline. Between 2020 and the time of the debate, more than 7,200 development applications were routed to the CMOH for mandatory review. Official performance data shows that the average processing time for CMOH referrals hit 67 days, far exceeding the official 21-day service target. Only 15% of all applications were completed within the mandated timeline, while 22% took more than three months to resolve. One in every four submissions was sent back to applicants for additional clarification, further extending wait times.
The backlog hits non-residential construction projects particularly hard, with this category facing an average wait of 93 days just to get CMOH sign-off. Swaratsingh emphasized that this redundant step has become one of the single biggest contributors to costly delays across the entire construction permitting system. Based on conservative estimates, roughly $5.4 billion in annual construction activity passes through the CMOH approval process each year. The cumulative financial impact of these delays is staggering: tied-up capital, deferred investment returns, and cost escalations add up to an average of $100 million in lost value annually, totaling nearly $1 billion in present-day terms over a 10-year period, according to the minister’s calculations.
Crucially, government officials stressed that the reform does not roll back public health protections. Instead, it eliminates duplicative oversight that already occurs through other established regulatory bodies. “This removes a duplicated approval, not a safeguard,” Swaratsingh clarified during parliamentary debate. Multiple agencies already oversee the various health and safety components of construction projects: the Town and Country Planning Division manages land use, density, and subdivision standards; municipal corporations handle core building permit reviews, inspections, and completion certifications; the Water and Sewerage Authority oversees plumbing, water access, and sewage systems; the Fire Service reviews fire safety and life protection protocols; and the Environmental Management Authority assesses potential environmental impacts. Additionally, licensed architects and engineers carry professional liability for the safety and compliance of the designs they certify. Even with all these existing layers of review, applicants were still required to obtain separate CMOH concurrence, creating unnecessary redundancy.
The costs of these persistent delays extend far beyond administrative inconvenience, touching every stakeholder in the development process. For developers and lenders, ongoing delays mean accumulating interest on outstanding bridging and construction loans, with some loan commitments expiring before approval is granted. Development teams are forced to retain contractors and professional staff for extended periods, driving up overhead costs. Delays also push up material and tender prices, and can cause purchaser agreements and mortgage approvals to lapse before projects reach completion. For subdivision developments, lengthy hold-ups leave individual lots trapped in the development process, unable to be conveyed, sold, or mortgaged, locking up valuable real estate that could otherwise be put to productive use.
By eliminating this redundant approval step, the government projects significant widespread economic benefits that will ripple through the national economy. The reform will move forward billions in construction activity that would otherwise be stuck in administrative backlogs. Using standard construction industry economic multipliers, the policy change is expected to bring roughly $1.1 billion in additional construction spending forward into the first year following implementation. This one-time boost will support an estimated $1.8 billion in total national output, equal to 0.5% of the country’s gross domestic product, and sustain 6,000 additional jobs in the near term. In the longer term, the reform is projected to add $40 million in annual GDP and support 300 permanent jobs annually by retaining construction sector investment that would otherwise have been withdrawn due to regulatory barriers.
The change is part of a broader government initiative to modernize the entire national permitting system and improve the country’s ranking for ease of doing business. Swaratsingh noted that regulatory frameworks that served the country well in past decades no longer meet the needs of a growing modern economy, justifying targeted updates to cut unnecessary red tape.
Importantly, the legislation preserves full CMOH oversight for developments that carry genuine public health risks. Projects involving food preparation, healthcare facilities, sanitation hazards, on-site water and wastewater disposal, communicable disease control concerns, and other health-sensitive uses will still required full CMOH review. The new framework simply removes overlapping approval for low-risk projects that have already been cleared by other competent agencies, balancing administrative efficiency with robust public health protection.
After hours of debate, the bill was approved on Tuesday evening with full support from opposition lawmakers, marking a rare moment of cross-party consensus on economic regulatory reform.