Engineers will Contribute Even More After China Harbour Conference – Minister Vaz

Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunication and Special Projects, Daryl Vaz said that contributions by engineers will be increased and sustained in the near future.
He was speaking on September 23 in Kingston at the opening ceremony of the 2010 China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) Conference. The conference falls within the Jamaica Institution of Engineers, ‘Engineers Week’.
Minister Vaz said, “The time invested by the engineers, who we pause to acknowledge in a special way this week, will bear fruit in the near term and their contributions to the nation building will be sustained at an ever increasing, high level. We want to thank the Government of China for supporting the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) and note that China’s interest in our country’s development is not limited to mere brick and water but has spanned support through scholarships, technical assistance programmes, investments in the agriculture sector and even in my own portfolio, the provision of technological networking solutions to the telecoms industry.”
Minister of Transport and Works, Mike Henry, said that the professional training sessions being offered by CHEC will allow the country to increase its corps of Grade-1 contractors from about 14 to the market need for 32. The conference will be annual and is one of the knowledge-transfer activities by CHEC. He also announced that the government and CHEC will develop two laboratories at the National Works Agency to test the quality of roads.
Deputy Engineering Director of CHEC, Mr. Debin Wei, noted that the company’s most valuable treasure was its experience and that it accepted its responsibility to share ideas with partners.
Managing Director of YP Seaton, Mr. YP Seaton, recalled that engineering expertise, just as every other field of endeavour, benefits from a sharing of information in a free and open dialogue. He said that the conference was an indispensable first step of CHEC in Jamaica and that the participants seemed eager to listen to the presentations.
CHEC operates in more than 70 countries and regions across the world. They are currently upgrading the Palisadoes highway and are the contractors for the five-year Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP).