Location issues holding back MoBay court complex- Chuck

WESTERN BUREAU:

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck says he is hoping that construction of the promised court complex which he wants to see established in Montego Bay, St James, to serve the entire western region will commence next year.

Chuck said he was frustrated by the inability to find a suitable location to build a court complex, saying they had been searching for a location for the last two fiscal years without success.

“It’s a challenge that I have been experiencing for the last two years, trying to get an appropriate location for a complex that we want to build,” Chuck said.

Geological analysis

According to the minister, the location they have found at the National Water Commission on Lower Bevin Avenue in downtown Montego Bay requires geological analysis before any final decision can be taken.

“The location that we identified required a geological assessment,” said Chuck. “That is being done by the engineer and the geologist. You don’t want to go and build and then everything start to sink. It takes time to be assessed by the geologist and the engineer before we can start building,” explained Chuck.

He noted that while he has not yet received the geological assessment report, he is of the view that it is complete and ready.

“I think it (the geological assessment) has been completed, but we are to get some results. I am hoping that by the end of the year, we can not only agree on the site but that architectural services would have been completed. I would be happy if we could start by the end of this fiscal year, but definitely, we want to start engage in construction sometime in 2020,” said Chuck.

The parish court building is located on Megree Bay Road in the Montego Bay business district. Earlier this year, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett indicated that both the parish court and the St James Parish Library would be relocated to facilitate the multimillion-dollar development plans for the city’s waterfront.

Chuck told The Gleaner that the money to build the new court complex in Montego Bay has already been secured and the only drawback at this time is the search to identify a suitable location.