MEMBER of Parliament for St Thomas Eastern Dr Michelle Charles on Tuesday called for the immediate replacement of the sub-contractors and engineers employed on the Government’s Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP).

She was speaking during the state of the constituency debate in the House of Representatives.

“After three years, Madam Speaker, I can no longer ask them to be patient. I want to inform this honourable House that I will always stand with the people of St Thomas Eastern. The people of St Thomas Eastern have spoken, and I am here to deliver the message,” she told the House.

“We, the of people of St Thomas Eastern, are calling for the immediate removal of the subcontractors NF Barnes Construction & Equipment Company Limited and Kinetic Engineering Services. We call upon the chief contractors, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) Limited, to completely take over the daily operations of the roadwork of Package Four in St Thomas Eastern,” she stated.

“The poor conditions of the roadway and slow progress of the work, can no longer be tolerated. We trust that CHEC will expedite the work in a manner that is acceptable to all. Madam Speaker, the people of St Thomas Eastern are holding me accountable and the contractors must be held accountable as well,” she charged.

Responding to a request from the Jamaica Observer for an update on the situation regarding the multi-billion-dollar highway project, minister without portfolio responsible for the road works Everald Warmington said that he was not in a position to respond to the MP. However, he said he has planned a visit to the site sometime next week to review the situation and make an announcement, shortly.

Regarded as the Government’s “flagship”road programme for the current period, SCHIP is being executed in three parts: Part A – May Pen to Williamsfield, 28 kilometres (km); Part B (ii) Harbour View to Yallahs Bridge, 17.4 km; and Part B (iii and iv) – Yallahs Bridge to Port Antonio and Morant Bay to Cedar Valley, 123.65 kms.

The Government is anticipating that substantial works will be completed by next March on the first two tranches of the programme, totalling approximately $11.5 billion.

Warmington told the House of Representatives during the 2022/23 budget debate that he had consistently asked for the public’s patience as the work continued, noting the need to keep such inegative impact to a minimum.

But Dr Charles said the progress has been slow and… “extremely uncomfortable and downright disrespectful to the people of St Thomas Eastern”.

“In my last presentation I reminded my people that we are uncomfortably under construction, and pleaded for their understanding while I negotiated with the contractors,” she said.

She recalled that she had invited Warmington to tour the project, which he did, and evaluated the progress and made his recommendations.

She said, too, that Prime Minister Andrew Holness had also met with the same contractors as well as St Thomas Eastern residents, “but we are still left frustrated”.

Holness had called contractors on a section of the project to an urgent meeting in June to discuss complaints which had arisen while they were working on the leg of the highway from Yallahs Bridge in St Thomas to Port Antonio, Portland.

A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister said that among the issues discussed were the contractual relationship between the subcontractor and the main contractor, CHEC; delays in traversing the road; as well as and dust and sound nuisance.