Port of Spain a shopping and business centre for much of the country. Most government offices are also located in the city and many important government services can only be accessed in the Ministry offices located downtown. Within recent years, local banks headquartered here have helped it become a financial centre for the Caribbean and Central America region. Two of the largest banks in the Caribbean, Republic Bank, Trinidad and Tobago Limited and Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT, reacquired by the Royal Bank in 2008) are headquartered here or base their Caribbean operations in the city. Trinidad's economy is based on
Port of Spain service, restarted in December 2008 (Trinidad's west coast towns were once served by steamship), links it with San Fernando. Like the rest of the island of Trinidad, Port of Spain is served by the Piarco International Airport located in Piarco, approximately east of Port of Spain. To ease the current traffic woes that result in two- to three-hour commutes during rush hours, a number of projects are in various stages of implementation. The upgrading of the Churchill–Roosevelt highway to a grade separated expressway and the extension of water ferry services from Port of Spain to the major urban hubs along