A $70-million project to beautify the Kingston Waterfront was launched yesterday by FirstCaribbean International Bank (Jamaica) and the Urban Development Bank (UDC).

The project is expected to be completed in time for the March 2007 start of the ICC Cricket World Cup, of which Jamaica is one of the regional hosts.

“Specifically, our plans for the waterfront include the provision of a promenade which will span the area from the Bank of Jamaica building in the east to the Kingston Craft Market in the west, improved landscaping, street furniture, improved lighting and security, facilities for indoor and outdoor entertainment and dining,” said Marjorie Campbell, CEO and president of the UDC, at the launch of the project held on the waterfront, a stone’s throw from FirstCaribbean’s downtown branch.

“Other improvements will include repairs to the Victoria Craft Market and to the Victoria Pier, painting of waterfront buildings and the upgrading of Orange Square,” Campbell said.

The plans for the development of the waterfront have been in the pipeline for a long time, Campbell said, but that impending Cricket World Cup tournament had given added incentive for its completion.

“The staging of Cricket World Cup matches, just up the road at Sabina Park, provides us with the perfect fillip to accelerate our own development plans for the waterfront and in this respect the UDC plans to facilitate the provision of an entertainment and recreational option for visitors to Kingston,” the UDC boss said.

Guest speaker at the afternoon launch, Governor-General Prof Kenneth Hall advocated the restoration of the Victoria Pier which he said “has more than economic value”.

He believes the waterfront beautification project would be a wholesome contribution to the development of Jamaica but said it would fail unless people owned it.

“None of this will survive unless the surrounding communities feel that they are a part of it,” Prof Hall said.