Feasibility Studies to Be Conducted for North-south Highway Expansion

The Government of Jamaica and China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) on Monday (August 4), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to conduct feasibility studies for the proposed extension of the North-South Highway.

Under the agreement, CHEC will conduct all the necessary studies, which include technical, financial, economic, environmental, and social, at no cost to the Government.

Addressing the signing ceremony at the Banquet Hall at Jamaica House on Monday (August 4), Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said the MOU will be valid for the next two years and will address the problem of traffic congestion in St. Ann.

He noted that the North-South Highway, commissioned over a decade ago, has become a symbol of transformation, linking the country’s capital and the industrial centres to the vibrant coastal towns of northwestern Jamaica.

“But development never stands still. As our economy and tourism sector expands, and more Jamaicans travel for work, school and leisure, our road network faces increasing pressure. Traffic studies confirm what commuters have been saying for the past decade, that the existing north coast corridor is overburdened. Congestion hampers productivity, it compromises safety, and it is a limiting factor on our growth potential,” he pointed out.

“To address this, we have two complementary projects, the first is the North Coast Highway Improvement Project, which will expand and widen the existing North-Coast Highway and two, the extension of the North-South Toll Highway, both westwards and eastwards,” he said.

He informed that the proposed highway extension includes the westward section from Mammee Bay to Discovery Bay in St. Ann, which is approximately 25.2 kilometres and eastwards from Mammee Bay to Tower Isle in St. Mary, which is approximately 15 kilometres.

He said that attempting to upgrade a heavily used roadway without providing an alternative route will cause significant disruption and dislocation “and we saw that consistently when we were improving the south coast highway corridor”.

As such, he pointed out, “we are going to do the North-South Highway Toll extension first before we undertake any upgrade or construction on the existing alignment”.

Dr. Holness noted that the Administration is investing more and more in the planning of the infrastructure work.

“China Harbour, which has been here with us as our partner, has significant expertise in this area. They have developed the existing North-South Highway, so they would have become very intimate with the terrain, so they would have a better understanding of the challenges, and so it makes sense that they undertake the feasibility studies that need to be done,” he said.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Robert Morgan, informed that under the MOU, the Government, through National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC), will provide the available data to facilitate the studies, while CHEC will conduct the studies to a standard that is acceptable to the Government.

Project Manager, CHEC, Hongsheng Gui, said that the organisation is committed to delivering results that not only meet but exceed the standards of the country’s regulatory authorities.