Economy

Port of Spain serves as a shopping and business centre for much of the country. It is also a major financial centre - two of the largest banks in the Caribbean, Republic Bank, Trinidad and Tobago Limited and RBTT (formerly the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago) are headquartered here.

The Port of Port of Spain is the major port of containerised shipping. Most government offices are also located in the city.

Demographics

The population of Port of Spain was 54,100 in 1901, 92,793 in 1946 (following the annexation of St, James in 1938), 93,954 in 1960, 73,950 in 1970, 59,200 in 1988 and 49,031 in 2000.

Culture and entertainment

While the major shopping area around Frederick Street has declined in competition with malls and the growth of outlying towns, ‘uptown’ Port of Spain (St. Clair and Woodbrook) have seen a boom as large corporations build high-rise headquarters in formerly upscale neighbourhoods.

Sports

Port of Spain hosts major sporting venues including:
The Queen’s Park Oval (cricket, cycling);
The Hasely Crawford Stadium (football, athletics);
The Jean Pierre Complex (netball, boxing);
Various sporting fields on the Queens Park Savannah.

It will be among the host cities of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Infrastructure

Health

Like the rest of Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain is served by a crumbling public health service. The major public hospital is the Port of Spain General Hospital. Demand for higher quality health service has led to a proliferation of private hospitals.

Transport

Transportation in an out of Port of Spain is plagued by heavy traffic delays at rush hour. Traffic enters the city from the east along the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway which ends at Barataria, just east of the city and becomes the Beetham Highway. Alternately, traffic can turn north at Barataria and enter the city to the north over the Lady Young Road.

The Eastern Main Road runs parallel to the highway and enters the city at the eastern end of Independence Square. The Priority Bus Route (which runs along the former Trinidad Government Railway line) enters the city at City Gate. Traffic from the west enters the city through the Western Main Road and the Audrey Jeffers Highway.

City Gate serves as a transportation hub for public buses and private mini-buses (locally known as maxi-taxis). City Gate is located on South Quay just south of Independence Square.

A ferry service links Port of Spain with Scarborough, Tobago.

Port of Spain, like the rest of the island of Trinidad, is served by the Piarco International Airport located in Piarco.

Utilites

Electric generation is handled by Powergen, while electrical distribution is handled by TandTEC, the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission. Powergen has one natural gas fired generation plant located on Wrightson Road in Port of Spain. Additional power can be supplied from power generation facilites located in Point Lisas and Penal.

Fixed-line telephone service is a monopoly controlled by TSTT. Wireless telephony is currently controlled by TSTT, but licenses have been granted for two private companies, Digicel and Laqtel to offer wireless service in competition with TSTT.

Water and sewerage are under the purview of WASA, the Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. Most solid waste is disposed of in the Beetham Landfill, commonly known as La Basse.

Sister cities

Port of Spain is a sister city with some of the following cities:
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Saint Catharines, Ontario, Canada