Edmund Ridge Estate To Include $437 Million In Infrastructure Works

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the new Edmund Ridge Estate housing development at Rose Hall, St. James, will facilitate infrastructure projects valued at approximately $437 million.

Speaking at the official launch of the first of three model housing units under phase one of the project on February 25, Mr. Bartlett said that road, water and drainage works will be undertaken, which will benefit the homeowners and residents of surrounding communities.

“What Edmund Ridge is going to do now is change the game by enabling a water supply system that will allow 750,000 gallons of water to be stored in tanks and will be gravity fed down to the communities of Rhyne Park, Barrett Town, Paisley and Spot Valley,” he said.

“The water problems we have in this area will now be solved as a result of the Edmund Ridge development coming into the area and that cost for putting this together is going to be $220 million,” he noted.

The Minister further outlined that the road rehabilitation works to be done will cost $112 million and will commence at Mount Zion and continue to the Spot Valley and Blyston communities.

In addition, he said that the drainage works, which will cost $105 million, will solve long-standing flood issues.

“So, in addition to dealing with this storm water management programme for the scheme itself, we are now going to be dealing with the entire problem of the community,” Mr. Bartlett pointed out.

“So just with this development, separate from providing some of the finest housing arrangements for more than 2,000 people in the area and those who are going to be coming into the area, we are going to… enable the wider community to benefit from a wider level of infrastructure development,” he noted.

Mr. Bartlett commended the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) and the China-based Henan Fifth Construction Group Company for partnering on the housing development, which is named in his honour.