KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller on Wednesday launched a US$42-million project that is to begin in the South West St Andrew communities of Majesty Gardens and Greenwich Town/Newport West.

Dubbed the Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP), it is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) through a loan from the World Bank. The ICDP is to provide a range of social service interventions, including after-school education and recreation projects, and minor rehabilitation to school infrastructure.

More than 80,000 residents in 18 communities, spanning six parishes, are set to benefit from this project, which is should significantly improve basic infrastructure and services over the next six years.

Simpson Miller, who is also member of parliament for South West St Andrew, commended JSIF for the programme’s implementation, noting that she is particularly pleased with its educational component.

“I’m working to transform lives and education, one community at a time and one family at a time,” she said. “I believe it is critical that we place a significant focus on education in this constituency.”

Simpson Miller said that Government continues to focus on community development.

“If we want to have a safe and peaceful Jamaica, then we must work with our communities to ensure their development,” she noted.

Greenwich Farm and Newport are the first communities in which the project is being launched. It is being implemented across the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine, Clarendon, St Ann, St James, and Westmoreland, and will also provide mentorship, employment and skills training opportunities for youth through partnership with the HEART/Trust NTA.

Some components of the project will include road rehabilitation, the removal of zinc fences, improvement of storm water drainage, and the installation of water supply and sanitation household connections, Managing Director of JSIF Scarlette Gillings said.