Buchanan Holds Talks with Group from Guadeloupe

Minister of Water and Housing, Donald Buchanan yesterday (November 10), met with a team from Cobaty International – Guadeloupe, to discuss deepening ties between Jamaica and that country, particularly in relation to projects of development, and in some cases redevelopment of urban areas.
At the meeting, which was held at the Ministry in Kingston, Minister Buchanan welcomed the 10-member delegation and told the group that the Ministry was “very interested in further collaboration on housing-related issues”.
The Minister also lauded the initiative being undertaken by the group from Cobaty International, to network with regional Governments and partners with a view to forging links with other professionals in the construction sector.
French Ambassador, Francis Hurtut and Cobaty International representative in Jamaica, Louise McLeod, were also on hand to welcome the team.
The visitors – a group of architects, developers, engineers and other construction industry professionals – are currently in Jamaica on a study mission to evaluate projects relating to the redevelopment of downtown Kingston and Port Royal.
The group is particularly interested in Jamaica’s Inner-City Housing Project and the Joint Venture Housing Project.
President of Cobaty International in Guadeloupe, Emile Romney, told the Minister that his organisation was interested in learning the strategies Jamaica employed in the treatment of wastewater and sewage.
Since its inception in 1992, Cobaty International has looked to the other islands in the Caribbean to create these partnerships, with particular interest in urban development, town planning and environment management.
The Cobaty group first visited Jamaica in June 1998, when members met with Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill and President of the Jamaica Institute of Architects, Douglas Stiebel.
Following this initial contact, and in subsequent meetings, the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and Cobaty International, through its local partner in Guadeloupe, Soci