Fri | Jan 3, 2025

SPARK Programme launched in St Andrew

Published:Wednesday | January 1, 2025 | 12:08 AM
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (second right) tours Everest Drive in St Andrew on Monday. Everest Drive is among the initial set of roads on which work will commence under the Government’s $45-billion Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement t
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Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (second right) tours Everest Drive in St Andrew on Monday. Everest Drive is among the initial set of roads on which work will commence under the Government’s $45-billion Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to Our Road Network (SPARK) Programme. Accompanying Holness (from left) are Senior Director, National Works Agency, Varden Downer; Member of Parliament, Kingston Eastern and Port Royal, Phillip Paulwell; Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with Responsibility for Works, Robert Morgan, and members of their teams.

The commencement of physical works under the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) Programme is being described by Robert Morgan, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for works, as “a bold step in modernising Jamaica’s infrastructure”.

The $45-billion project got under way on Monday with the start of works on Everest Drive in the community of Bayshore, St Andrew.

Morgan said the project would not be just about fixing roads, but about transforming communities, enhancing economic opportunities, and improving the daily lives of Jamaicans.

He said the eight-week Everest Drive project will be highly beneficial to those who live along the stretch, as well as the wider community.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, along with several public officials, including Morgan; E.G. Hunter, chief executive officer of the National Works Agency (NWA); and Kedesha Rochester, head of the Constituency Development Fund Unit, were on hand on Monday for the start of the first SPARK project.

The SPARK Programme is being implemented in two phases and will see both main and community roads being targeted. Some 650 roads islandwide have been identified for inclusion under the programme. The scope of work includes the installation of waterlines, laying of fibre-optic ducts, new drainage features, construction of sidewalks and new wearing surfaces.

‘Creating a foundation’

Morgan, who has direct ministerial responsibility for the NWA, which is managing the programme, said he was particularly looking forward to the work to be done on the main road network across the country.

“We are confident that by investing in the main road network, we are creating a foundation for improved public services, increased safety, and greater accessibility to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities across Jamaica that will serve Jamaicans for generations to come.”

The SPARK Programme represents one of the largest investments in Jamaica’s road and water infrastructure in recent history.

SPARK is projected to be implemented over a two-year period. Under the contract with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the company will also be responsible for the maintenance of all roads rehabilitated under SPARK for a period of one year. Any defects during this period will have to be remedied by CHEC at no additional cost to the Government.