Ground broken for Lilliput road rehab
MONTEGO BAY, St James — THE Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) broke ground last Friday for a $190-million road rehabilitation project to be undertaken in the Lilliput community of St James.
The project is phase three of the Lilliput Upgrading Programme, which is being implemented by the HAJ through funding from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).
Phases one and two were implemented last year at a cost of approximately $44 million.
According to managing director of the HAJ, Joseph Shoucair, work on the project should begin next week and will last for roughly nine months.
The contractor is DR Foote Construction Company Limited.
“The work will see the paving of the roads and the construction of storm water drains,” Shoucair said, adding that the project forms part of the overall plan to develop the whole eastern end of the Montego Bay corridor.
Minister of Water and Housing Dr Horace Chang noted that Lilliput was one of the largest informal settlements in the parish and the intention of the government is to formalise these settlements across the island so that the residents can become proud landowners.
Tourism Minister and Member of Parliament for East Central St James — where Lilliput is located — Edmund Bartlett said that the project will significantly enhance property values in the community.
“You have the responsibility, after we have done what we need to do, to make this not only a place where people live, but where people are joined by a commonality of purpose that will make everybody here a brother, a sister, and a friend and are hospitable and welcoming to everyone else who comes into the community,” he told residents.
