Ja/Belgium to discuss big HWT project
Prime Minister Bruce Golding says he will be meeting with Belgian investors next week to begin talks for another major development in the Half-Way-Tree area to complement the new Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre which was officially opened for business yesterday.
Although unable to give further details just yet, Golding yesterday said the meeting is planned for next Monday to begin discussions towards the development which will make Half-Way-Tree the central point of activity in Kingston and St Andrew.
“We are going to be doing more for Half-Way-Tree because we recognise the importance of it,” Golding said in his address at the official opening of the Transport Centre.
“There is more that can be done and needs to be done to make Half-Way-Tree a modern 21st century urban setting with services being offered in a variety of areas,” he said.
However, Opposition spokesman on transport, Robert Pickersgill, told the Sunday Observer he believes the talks will be about the proposed twin towers facility which was in the planning stage when his administration exited office last September.
“We saw the drawings and the designs, spoke with the people and agreed and we were to go through with it but then came the change and I think that is what the prime minister is talking about,” Pickersgill said.
He said when his administration left office they were also in the process of approaching the Belgian Government for financing.
The Transport Centre, Pickersgill explained, was designed in such a way to accommodate the future construction of the twin towers, which will also include a shopping complex.
He said owners of shops and small establishments on Eastwood Park Road have already received offers of long-term leases from entrepreneurs seeking to establish related business activities next to the Transport Centre.
In his address, Golding said the Government will also have to improve the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) bus service, starting with the purchase of 40 new buses.
“As of right now, we are operating with more than 100 buses from the fleet that are out of commission and we will have to build that fleet back up to the capacity that we need in order to provide adequate seats,” he said.
In addition, Golding said the Government will also have to tackle the issue of traffic congestion in the city.
“The nature of the traffic congestion in the Corporate Area is something that is going to undermine our efforts at efficiency and productivity and it is something that will have to be addressed,” he said.
Already he has requested that a proposal be brought to Cabinet on how best to deal with the traffic flow in the capital city.
Although the centre was designed only for JUTC buses, Golding said he was aware that they are not the only entity moving passengers across the Corporate Area, and provisions must be made for the others as soon as possible.
Golding reiterated the Government’s appreciation to the previous administration which conceptualised the project, secured the financing and guided it through most of its construction.
He applauded the favourable terms under which the project has been financed where 80 per cent of the euro54 million loan was made available free of interest and the remaining 20 per cent at a concessionary rate of 4.3 per cent. Repayment will be over a 10-year period at six monthly intervals.
The Belgian ambassador to Jamaica, Herman Portocarero, lauded the workers from both Jamaica and Belgium for making the site incident and accident free which, he said, was only possible because of the collective efforts of everyone involved from the start.
Transport Minister Mike Henry said a number of measures are on the drawing board for implementation to help ease and improve the general flow of traffic within the city.
This, he said, will include major expansion and upgrading works, including the widening of Marcus Garvey Drive and a large section of Spanish Town Road.
Ongoing surveys, he said, are being conducted along several other main corridors such as Molynes Road, Red Hills Road, Hagley Park Road, East King’s House Road, Lady Musgrave Road and Constant Spring Road between Dunrobin Avenue and Manor Park.
“These surveys will be used to determine the extent of our addition of physical lane capacity and improvement of critical intersections this year,” he said.
There is also expected to be additional dedicated bus lanes in selected areas of the city.