Coastal Protection Project for Annotto Bay

A project aimed at protecting the coastal town of Annotto Bay from storm surges, is scheduled to begin in June.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, made the announcement during Friday’s (January 13) hand over of the $258 million Port Maria Fire Station in St. Mary.

He noted that the new project will be “another significant investment” in the parish.

Prime Minister Holness said that Annotto Bay is “a small, closely knit town that has the potential to be a tourism gem” but noted that the area faces challenges such as coastal erosion, the low-lying nature, and drainage issues.

“This new project will help to solve a part of the challenge, which will be the revetment works, which will protect (Annotto Bay) from storm surges and devastating wave actions. It will also help with the drainage in the town,” he said.

Mr. Holness said that the project will be facilitated under the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP), which is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, through a loan agreement with the World Bank.

The Prime Minister also informed that a path for a bypass road for Annotto Bay has been identified and the process to facilitate the development will begin this year.