Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, has said the Bailey bridge to be erected at the Riverton City landfill in Kingston, at a cost of $75 million, is slated for ­completion by January 2021.

McKenzie said the temporary bridge, for which funding has been earmarked in the 2020/21 Estimates of Expenditure, will replace the existing structure that facilitates the transportation and disposal of solid waste collected around the Corporate Area, but which is deteriorating.

He was responding to questions from members of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, who were reviewing the Estimates during Tuesday’s meeting at Gordon House.

McKenzie advised that arrangements for the structure’s ­acquisition have been initiated, adding that a submission to ­formalise the process will be made to Cabinet on Monday for approval.

The minister indicated that, following the Bailey bridge’s installation, “we are going to move to [undertake] the construction of a brand-new [permanent] bridge, to facilitate the disposal of garbage”.