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The Jamaica Economical Housing Project has been given $1.35 billion in the 2012/2013 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project seeks to upgrade infrastructure (water, sewer and roads) in rural communities of St. Ann and St. Elizabeth; provide affordable housing solutions in St. Elizabeth; and to alleviate the deficit of housing solutions in St. Ann, by...

The Palisadoes Shoreline and Road Project has been allocated some $1.87 billion in the 2012/13 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project seeks to protect the integrity and viability of the investments made by the Government and ensure that its citizens have reliable access; and to make the corridor less susceptible to flooding, while also protecting...

Activities under the Transportation Infrastructure Rehabilitation Programme should be significantly enhanced this year through a $1.5 billion provision, set aside in the 2012/13 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project, being implemented by the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, aims to rehabilitate essential portions of the main road system and ensuring physical continuity of the...

All outstanding civil works under the Washington Boulevard Corridor Widening Programme will be completed this fiscal year, through allocation of $530 million. The provision, contained in the 2012/13 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives, will also go towards completing  utilities relocation and facilitating payment for re-measured works and project accounts. Implemented in January 2008, through...

An allocation of $385 million has been set aside in the 2012/13 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, in support of the Government’s efforts to improve the nation's roadways. The initiative falls under the Road Improvement Programme, which is being funded by the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government of Jamaica. The project, which began...

Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Omar Davies, is reporting that Government’s effort to reduce the number of deaths on the roads has resulted in a 20 per cent drop in fatal accidents since the start of the year. “Our commitment to road safety is clear and unambiguous, and we are beginning to see the benefits, as through...

Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Omar Davies, is expected to make an announcement soon as to how the government intends to clear some $11 billion in debt owed by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC). Dr. Davies, who disclosed the extent of the debt on May 1, during the debate on a motion brought to the House...

The Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston on April 30 welcomed its first WestJet international flight from Toronto, Canada, with 136 passengers onboard. The Boeing 737 Next-Generation aircraft landed at approximately 12:05 p.m. to applause and cheers from the welcome party, headed by Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeil, which witnessed its arrival from the NMIA’s...

Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Omar Davies, is defending the decision to establish an Independent Oversight Panel (IOP), which will, among other things, monitor three critical infrastructure projects. In a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday (April 24), Dr. Davies announced that Cabinet had given the go ahead for the continuation of three projects- the...

Cabinet has approved the establishment of an Independent Oversight Panel (IOP) to expand the framework for the monitoring of contracts. Principal and Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Professor Gordon Shirley will chair the body, and the other members are Retired Territory Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Everton McDonald; and businessman the Hon. R. Danny Williams....

The Government has decided to take the necessary steps towards the implementation of three major infrastructure works, which are critical to the country's future development. The three projects are the North-South link of Highway 2000; the Gordon Cay Container Transshipment Hub; and the Fort Augusta Terminal. Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Omar Davies, made the disclosure in...

The Government is going after some $2 billion it is owed in outstanding traffic fines over the next six months. The process will be facilitated through the Road Traffic (Temporary Ticket Amnesty) Act, 2012, which was passed on April 24 in the House of Representatives. Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, who opened the debate, said that because of...