PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller says China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the contractor of the North-South link of Highway 2000, will not be granted any special favours.

Simpson Miller was speaking yesterday at the launch of segment two of the highway project — which will comprise 15 kilometres of roadway linking Linstead in St Catherine and Moneague in St Ann — at the Treadways Toll Plaza in St Catherine.

“There will be no special concession granted in terms of adherence to the regulatory agencies. There is no negative attached to this project,” Simpson Miller said.

The highway will be built at a cost of US$600 million over a three-year period, and will link Kingston to the North Coast by bypassing the treacherous Mount Rosser main road.

The project will be completely funded by CHEC, which will also reimburse the Jamaican Government a total of US$130 million for the incomplete Mount Rosser bypass in St Catherine.

“The Government of Jamaica will make available 1,200 acres along the toll road for housing, commercial developments and hotels. An investment of this magnitude must be seen as a signal that a foreign company has put down roots in Jamaica. This project ranks among the most important projects in Jamaica’s history,” the prime minister said.

The Linstead to Moneague segment of the highway is scheduled to be completed in March 2014, while the entire project is slated to be complete by December 2015.

The highway will be a four-lane dual carriageway and will feature toll plazas and service areas. It will bypass the historic flat bridge in the Bog Walk Gorge which is known to be prone to flooding when the Rio Cobre is in spate, and has been the site of fatal accidents over the years.

The highway will also bypass the environmentally degraded Fern Gully and is expected to reduce the travel time between the capital city of Kingston to Ocho Rios to less than an hour. At present trucks and heavy duty vehicles are barred from travelling through Fern Gully as fuel emissions have seriously affected the 600 varieties of ferns that grow there.

People’s National Party Councillor for the Treadways Division Sydney Rose, who delivered an address on behalf of Environment Minister Bobby Pickersgill, said all environmental rules had been followed by the contractors.

Minister of Transport, Works and Housing Omar Davies also spoke at the launch and pointed to the continuity of government as a major factor in the expected success of the project.

“Parties may change, but a project such as this transcends political boundaries and I must mention my predecessor Mike Henry,” Davies said.

CHEC will collect the profits gained from the toll road for 50 years before handing it over to the Jamaican Government.