Dr. Alwin Hales has been Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Works since January of 1998. He also served as Permanent Secretary of the now defunct Ministry of Local Government and Works from June 1996 to December 1997. Prior to this appointment he was Chief Technical Director of the National Irrigation Commission. He has had extensive work experience as an engineer at Agro 21 Corporation Limited, Urban Development Corporation and the Scientific Research Council.

Dr. Hales has a Doctorate (Ph. D.) in Water Management from the University of Southampton (UK), a Master (M.Sc.) in Water Resources Engineering from the University of Guelph (Canada ), and a Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.) in Civil Engineering from the University of the West Indies.