Editorial | The lesson of Troy

Prime Minister Holness has hailed the start of construction of the Troy Bridge on the Trelawny-Manchester border, after a long delay, as a “symbol of the new Jamaica”.

But the three-year waiting time points to deep problems: weakness in planning, project execution, and bureaucratic inefficiencies, which exacerbate the inadequacy of the island’s infrastructure.

The fact is, it was more than three years between the August 2021 collapse of the original bridge and the start of work on the new one, during which time communities on both sides of the parish borders were left stranded, or forced to use long, expensive alternative routes. That is merely one of many, and frequent, examples of the country’s development being disrupted by outdated systems.

The lesson from the Troy Bridge, therefore, is of Jamaica’s need (if it is to accommodate a growing population and prepare for the impacts of climate change) to adopt a more strategic approach to infrastructure investment – one that emphasises resilience, efficiency, and transparency.

While the government has repeatedly endorsed these goals, achieving them is a long way off.

In recent years, Jamaica has focused heavily on building major highways, such as the north-south leg of Highway 2000, which, like others, has reduced travel times between key economic zones. The current closure of the Bog Walk Gorge, due to rockslides, underline the value of these investments.

However, they also highlight a critical gap: the neglect of interior and rural roads. Communities away from the major routes often face poor road conditions, making it difficult for farmers to access markets and for residents to receive essential services. So, transportation costs remain excessively high, particularly for the poor.

UNLIKELY TO FULLY REVERSE

The recently launched SPARK (Special Programme for Accelerated Roadworks) initiative is unlikely to fully reverse these disparities. Without a comprehensive strategy to address this problem, the benefits of large-scale highway investments will remain unevenly distributed.

However, the island’s infrastructural weakness isn’t manifested only in poorly constructed (as is noticeable in some of the new highways) or inadequately maintained roads. Frequent floods have exposed fragility in other areas, including bridges and drainage systems. The effects of climate change will only increase pressure on these critical systems.

The circumstances necessitate an urgent shift towards building climate-resilient infrastructure.

The focus must be on developing structures that can withstand extreme weather, including reinforced bridges, improved drainage systems, and elevated roadways. Investing in green infrastructure, such as mangrove restoration and coastal defences, can help mitigate the impacts of rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

In response to systemic delays and inefficiencies in project design and execution, Jamaica introduced in 2015 a comprehensive procurement law to enhance transparency and accountability in public projects. Despite these reforms, the process remains bogged down by red tape.

The Troy Bridge project exemplifies this issue, with years lost in bureaucratic procedures and tendering delays.

To address this, the government must streamline the procurement process by reducing unnecessary bureaucratic steps while maintaining strict oversight to prevent corruption.

Leveraging digital tools for procurement can also help speed up tender evaluations and improve transparency.

Setting clear timelines and performance benchmarks for project approvals can also minimise delays.

And most importantly, however, is the need to attract and retain competent staff to operate the system!

Indeed, the public bureaucracy is faced with a crisis of competent staff in procurement and project management. It is an area on which the island’s universities and other tertiary institutions, with direct support from the government, should pay attention.

Without these changes, the promise of efficient and timely infrastructure development will remain unfulfilled.