PM pleased with progress at MoBay beach park
Published:Friday | December 6, 2019 | 12:17 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says that he is satisfied with the progress made by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) in transforming the 16-acre former ‘Dump-up Beach’ into a scenic closed harbour park.
The legacy project is located in the proximity of Montego Bay’s Howard Cooke Boulevard.
The $1.2-billion overhaul forms part of the UDC’s Montego Bay Redevelopment Programme, which will see the conversion of the area into a state-of-the-art recreation space with amenities that will allow it to operate as a free-access licensed public park.
“I am sure when it’s completed, the people of Montego Bay will be more than satisfied with what they would have managed to have accomplished here,” said Holness of the project which many expect to be Montego Bay’s version of Emancipation Park in New Kingston.
One of the features of the ongoing project that Holness particularly likes is the fact that the work is being carried out by a local contractor.
“What is also important is that this project is being done by a local contractor. It is on time and on budget, and we want to keep it that way,” said Holness.
According to the prime minister, the Government decided to invest in the beach park to ensure that Montegonians were not crowded out of quality public spaces by private-sector developments.
The renovation is being funded by the Government, including through the Tourism Enhancement Fund.
“This is the first real major public expenditure to create and establish this as a permanent site with all the amenities for all the citizens,” Holness said.