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Chairman of the National Housing Trust (NHT), Mr. Howard Mitchell, has said that the developers' incentive programme, announced by the Government, provides an excellent opportunity for private sector developers to enter the low-income housing market. Speaking on a tour of the Twickenham Park Housing Development in St. Catherine today (April 21), Mr. Mitchell encouraged private developers to make use of...

Minister of Water and Housing, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, has expressed pleasure that the Twickenham Park Housing Development, Phase II, is to be completed in June, five months ahead of schedule. The Minister toured the development in St. Catherine, today (April 21), to see the progress of the work and view the already completed units. The project consists of 234...

National Housing Trust (NHT) mortgagors are to benefit from a reduction in interest rates as of May 1, 2010, along with several other measures, aimed at making it more affordable to own a home. In his presentation in the 2010/11 Budget Debate today (April 20), Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, announced that mortgage rates will be reduced by one...

A number of issues relating to the communities of Black Rock, Castle, Islington, Priestman's River and Commodore in Eastern Portland were discussed at a Community Meeting sponsored jointly by the Portland Parish Council and the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), at the Fair Prospect Primary School, on Thursday (April 15). Among matters discussed were inadequate water supply, maintenance of the Priestman's...

Minister of Water and Housing, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, on Friday (April 16) commissioned the Parottee well in St. Elizabeth into service, which will serve some 2,500 persons in the parish. The well, which was out of service for some time, was rehabilitated at a cost of about $53 million, and will provide potable water to residents in Parottee, Hopewell,...

Residents of the Norwich/Boundbrook community in Portland are currently benefitting from an improved water supply, as a result of the upgrading and expansion of the supply system serving that community. The upgraded system was completed in May of last year, as a result of a partnership between the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), and the Lighthouse, Ranch Hill, Stony Hill...

The Government has committed billions of dollars to the water sector as it looks to develop the island's water resources and improve on existing infrastructure. Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang, said that Jamaica has sufficient water to serve the population but needs investment to develop the water resources for distribution. He said that there is enough water...

Water and Housing Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, has given the assurance of an increase in the supply of water to communities in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA), currently experiencing restrictions caused by the prevailing drought, within four weeks. The KMA encompasses Kingston and St. Andrew and central and southern St. Catherine, inclusive of Spanish Town, Central Village and Portmore....

The Water Resources Authority (WRA) and the University of the West Indies (UWI), this morning (April 8), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve knowledge of water resources in the island, and enhance staff and institutional capacity in the water and education sectors. This will be done through research and development in water resources planning, management, and development. Speaking...

The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) is examining legislation and guidelines to see how it can bring private water truck operators under its remit. The move comes as the public, local authorities and official bodies continue to raise concern about the safety and quality of drinking water being distributed by these operators. "The (OUR) is not unmindful to the concerns...

The Water Programme for Environment Sustainability Project (WPA) has received an allocation of $5.5 million in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditures now before the House of Representatives. This project was established to upgrade the Water Resources Master Plan and assess the potential for water related developments and the resource capacity to meet present and future demands. The scope of the...

The National Land Agency (NLA) continues to justify its position of being accorded executive agency status as part of the Government's Public Sector Modernisation Programme. For the last two consecutive financial years, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010, the NLA achieved 98 per cent of its performance targets, improving service delivery, while at the same time reducing the turnaround times for its core...