Works to Upgrade Morant Bay Fort Set for Completion by March 2027

March 2027 has been earmarked for the completion of upgrade and redevelopment works at the Morant Bay Fort by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo).

The project is part of the next phase of plans by the agency to position St. Thomas as a cultural tourism destination.

“St. Thomas is seen as a new destination, a new tourism destination, but it’s not going to be like a Montego Bay or Ocho Rios. We want to highlight the real cultural and heritage aspect of the space,” said Director of Product Development and Community Tourism at TPDCo, Kerry-Ann Lowe Mullings.

“So, by March 31, 2027 you will see a refreshed fort experience,” she added.

Mrs. Lowe Mullings, along with a team of designers and engineers from TPDCo and members of the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation recently visited the fort, which is situated in a small park behind the old courthouse in Morant Bay.

The redevelopment falls under the St. Thomas Tourism Destination Development and Management Plan, designed by the Ministry of Tourism.

“This is a project that we have really pulled from that document,” Mrs. Lowe Mullings noted, adding that the goal is “enhancing the heritage space here.”

Renovation works will include the installation of new park benches and will also see TPDCo partnering with the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) to carry out repairs to the fort walls and cannons.

In an interview with JIS News, Mrs. Lowe Mullings informed that “we’re having the designers and the engineers look at the space because the next step is really to create the look and feel of what it is going to be, and then they will prepare… the detailed estimates”.

“It’s a project that is on our books for implementation for the upcoming financial year,” reiterating the March 2027 completion date.

Chief Executive Officer of the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation, Kevin McIndoe, said that the initiative is part of a broader strategy to improve the parish’s appeal as a travel destination.

“The activities here at the old courthouse in Morant Bay with our partner TPDCo is to renovate the space and to make it a heritage tourism destination and this, among the other planned activities for the parish, will basically improve St. Thomas’s competitiveness as a tourist destination and make it somewhere that persons would want to live and to visit,” Mr. McIndoe said.

The redevelopment of the Morant Bay Fort is expected to play a key role in showcasing the parish’s rich history while supporting sustainable tourism growth in eastern Jamaica.