FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Member of Parliament for Trelawny North Patrick Atkinson’s fervent desire to establish a commercial hub on the eastern side of this historic town took a giant leap towards reality when ground was broken for a $180 million project to construct a new state-of-the-art market last week.

The construction of the market by contractors, Surrey Paving and Aggregate, is scheduled to be completed by December, 2015.

According to Atkinson, shortly after that, work should get underway for the establishment of a commercial centre on a plot of land across the road from the site where the market will be constructed.

“We anticipate that across the road from where this market will be built, there will be some significant development of a commercial centre, to which much of the commerce that takes place in the tourist section of the town can be moved down here, together with business offices and the likes,” stated Atkinson, who is also the attorney general.

Among the factors cited by Atkinson which has prompted the need for the relocation of the current market facility from its Lower Parade Street location is that its closeness to the cruise shipping pier, which was opened in March 2011, is posing a major challenge to the police in the fight to arrest tourist harassment.

He explained that a survey revealed that cruise passengers who ventured off the cruise vessels stayed an average five minutes ashore before they head back to the ship.

“So they walked through that gate and virtually on an average turned back and head back to the ship. We discovered that the main factor was harassment of the tourists as they came off. The thing is, one could not and cannot regulate the region of the entry to the port, with a market next to it,” the north Trelawny MP revealed.

But, at that time, efforts to construct the market at its new location at the lower end of Market Street, towards Martha Brae, the former parish capital, hit a snag after Minister of Transport, Works and Housing Omar Davies initially rejected the project because the initial drawing featured one bathroom for the facility.

“When the minister saw the first building plan for construction of the market, he rejected it summarily. He said this Administration is not building that kind of structure because for a market, it had one bathroom. And so it was sent back for it to be redesigned that we could have something worthy not just for Falmouth, but of Jamaica because where those tourists come out here they are coming to Jamaica,” Atkinson said during his remarks at Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site.

He noted that upon completion of construction of the state-of-the-art market, the current facility will be converted into a tourism attraction.

“The site of the (current) market is going to be transformed into attractions where tourism can flourish,” the MP stated.

During his keynote address, Davies lauded the project as one that was essential for the area.

“This groundbreaking ceremony is important for construction to take place. But this market is even more important in terms of the unfolding of the plan for the redevelopment of Falmouth,” Davies said.

He was, however, quick to task the Trelawny Parish Council to ensure effective operation of the new market.

“This market going to run differently. There is going to be order and there is going to be discipline.”

Mayor of Falmouth Garth Wilkinson and President and CEO of the Port Authority of Jamaica Professor Gordon Shirley, who both participated in the groundbreaking ceremony, also welcomed the project.