150 Additional School Buses to Be Procured

An additional 150 buses will be procured in the new financial year, which begins April 1, to strengthen the school bus system.

Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, made the disclosure while presenting the 2026/27 Throne Speech during Thursday’s (February 12) ceremonial opening of Parliament at Gordon House.

Outlining priorities under the Ministry of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications, he said that focus will be placed on negotiating a new all-island electricity licence and advancing a ride-hailing policy.

The National Emergency Telecommunications Plan will also be finalised.

The Governor-General said that major reforms in energy efficiency, transport modernisation, and telecommunications are under way.

“Deep retrofitting works, including solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, efficient lighting and upgraded air conditioning were completed at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) with similar upgrades under way across public facilities to cut costs and strengthen grid resilience,” he said.

The Governor-General said that notwithstanding the extensive damage to Jamaica’s electricity grid by Hurricane Melissa, through decisive action and the steadfast support of the Government, the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company successfully restored power to more than 90 per cent of customers by December 2025.

Turning to public transportation, he reported that modernisation of the sector continued with the acquisition of 200 of 300 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, completion of phase one of the Rural School Bus Programme and the launch of phase two, supported by new bus procurement and designated school stops equipped with improved safety and monitoring systems.

In addition, strategic infrastructure upgrades progressed at the airports, including $5 billion in improvements at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

Border protection was reinforced with the deployment of 200 port security corps officers.

As it relates to telecommunications, the Governor-General said that a Letter of Intent was signed with Trans Americas Fiber System to develop a new subsea fibre-optic cable, expanding bandwidth, improving resilience, and reducing long-term connectivity costs.

Legislative progress included the Petroleum (Downstream) Bill, the Civil Aviation (Amendment) Bill, amendments to enabling electronic vehicle certification, and the implementation of Electricity (Wheeling) Regulations.