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Mexico pledges US$1.8m to help fix Riverton access road

Published:Thursday | April 16, 2015 | 9:35 AM

The Mexican government is to donate some US$1.8 million towards the government’s rehabilitation of the access road to the Riverton City Landfill in St Andrew.

The money is being provided through the Infrastructure Fund for Mesoamerican and Caribbean Countries (the Yucatan Agreement) and Mexico’s Exim Bank BANCOMEXT.

According to a release from the embassy, Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator A. J. Nicholson was made aware of the donation yesterday.

Mexico’s Chargée d’Affaires in Jamaica, MariaElena Alcaraz, says the pledge is timely given the recent fire at the dump.

She says Mexico wishes to assist the Government in improving the access to the landfill and with it, the quality of life of the surrounding communities, other existing businesses in the area as well as the general population of Kingston and St Andrew.

The Chargée d’Affaires says her country believes that by improving access to the landfill, its efficiency in managing solid waste will be benefited, and access in case of an emergency at the site will also be facilitated.

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is to manage the construction project which includes the installation of a drainage system along the 1.65 km length of the road and the concrete paving of the roadway, to ensure its extended lifespan bearing in mind the constant transit of heavyweight trucks.

The project is estimated to be completed within 12 months, with construction work starting later this year.