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Just over $26.4 million has been earmarked for the rehabilitation and expansion of water supply and distribution systems in Port Antonio, as outlined in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House. The programme, the Port Antonio Water Sewerage and Drainage Project, which is being executed by the National Water Commission (NWC), aims to improve the existing drainage system...

Approximately 9.6 kilometres of flood-damaged farm roads in five parishes will be repaired this fiscal year, as work continues under the Reduction of Fluctuation in Export Exchange project. The parishes in which the work will be undertaken are Hanover, St. James, St. Catherine, Trelawny, and St. Ann. A sum of $128 million has been allotted for the project in the...

Arterial roads will receive some attention in the new fiscal year, through the provision of $106 million to the Ministry of Transport and Works, to improve the road network linking major towns. As set out in the Estimates of Expenditure tabled in the House of Representatives on March 25, the bulk of the money - $97.5 million - will go...

A total of $51.3 million has been allocated to the Rural Competitiveness Programme in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives. The programme, which is funded by the Government and the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB), seeks to provide support that will result in the development of a modern, efficient and internationally competitive agricultural...

The Ministry of Education has commended educational institutions in Manchester and St. Elizabeth, for their best practices that have led to success for both students and teachers. The event, held at Munro College, in St. Elizabeth, saw the schools being recognised for excellence in a number of areas, including pedagogy, technology, curricula content and material, excellence in leadership and governance,...

The Government is to continue its programme of providing education at the earliest age possible, with a budgetary allocation of $288 million for the Enhancement of Basic Schools project, as outlined in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House. With funding support from the Caribbean Development Bank, the project aims at enabling young children to learn and develop...

The Government will be exploring 22 new wind energy sites, to add wind generated electricity to the existing Wigton Windfarm 1, and the soon to be completed US $49 million Wigton 2, in Southern Manchester. Through an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) grant of over US$700,000, sites will be researched for their commercial viability and, if viable, they will be developed...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, has predicted that the implementation of Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) will allow for increased employment opportunities for Jamaicans. "We expect that more workers will go to work, more employers will be able to afford you working and the Decent Work Agenda, certainly, will be realised," he told Tuesday's (March 30) seminar...

A total of $13.2 million has been allocated to the Capacity Building for Sustainable Land Management project in the 2010/11Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project aims to enhance effective sustainable land management by building capacities for sustainable land management in appropriate government and civil society institutions and user groups. It also seeks to mainstream sustainable...

Almost $11 million has been set aside in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure to facilitate the continuation of a Household Expenditure Survey by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). The project initially ran between November 2004 and December, 2008 contributing to an enhanced process of economic and social decision making. It guarantees implementation of an updated model for compilation of...

The Government has allocated some $31 million to Mitigate the Threat of Invasive Alien Species (AIS) in the Insular Caribbean, in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditures now before the House of Representatives. Invasive alien species are plants, animals, pathogens and other organisms that are non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human...

An additional $2.9 billion has been earmarked in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives, to complete construction of the Montego Bay Convention Centre this year. The project, being executed by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), aims to provide the resort city and its environs with adequate space to facilitate meetings, exhibitions and event-type activities. Additionally,...