The Government will spend another $4.78 billion in 2019/2020 to continue the improvement of the island’s road infrastructure. This is outlined in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The money, which has been provided under the Major Infrastructure Development Programme (MIDP), will go towards commencing road construction works along the Ferris to Mackfield stretch in...

Work to expand the Harbour View, St. Andrew to Yallahs, St. Thomas roadway to four lanes, is to begin this fiscal year under the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project. A sum of $8.42 billion has been set aside in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure to undertake, among other activities, the reconstruction of this 17.4-kilometre stretch of road and achieve seven...

The University of the West Indies (UWI) is being encouraged to provide ongoing support, through research, for accelerated economic and social development in Jamaica. Minister without Portfolio in the Finance and the Public Service Ministry, Hon. Fayval Williams, noted that as a “knowledge producer”, the UWI is well positioned for this undertaking. She also urged well-thinking Jamaicans to join the...

The Post and Telecommunications Department is modernising its facilities and operations. Eastern Regional Coordinator, Natasha Russell Martin, says three post offices in Kingston, Ocho Rios and Falmouth were recently renovated, and notes that significant stakeholder support was provided. She told JIS News that the General Post Office (GPO) on King Street, downtown Kingston was refurbished, after being closed for one...

The Government will be intensifying its plastic ban monitoring and enforcement activities in the coming weeks. This was disclosed by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, during the sitting of the House of Representatives on February 5. He said monitoring will be spearheaded by the relevant regulatory entities, including the Jamaica...

Come September 2020, the Government will be amending the format for measuring Jamaica’s gross domestic product (GDP), to include research and development as a subsector. Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says this will entail incorporating the 2008 GDP measurement update under the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA), being used by a number...

The deposit refund scheme, which will provide cash to consumers who return their plastic bottles, is to be operational early in the 2019/20 financial year. Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, made the disclosure during a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday (February 5). The forthcoming scheme is intended...