ONE week after much outcry over the proposed toll rates to traverse the North-South link of Highway 2000, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that the fees will be reduced by 25 per cent. The toll became effective midnight last night.

This means that Class 3 vehicles, to include trucks and big buses travelling from Caymanas in St Catherine to Mammee Bay, St Ann, or vice versa, will now pay $2,775 — $925 less than the originally proposed rate ($3,700). Under this arrangement, motorists travelling the same stretch in a Class 2 vehicle (pickups and large sport utility vehicles) will pay $1,837.50 — a $612.50 difference — while morotists with Class 1 vehicles, such as motor cars and small sport utility vehicles will pay $915 — $305 less than the previous proposed rate.

Motorists travelling from Caymanas to Linstead, Unity Valley, and Lydford will now pay $2,235, $1,485 and $750 for Class 3, Class 2, and Class 1 vehicles, respectively.

Drivers of vehicles such as motor bikes that fall in the Class 4 classification will pay $450 — down from a high of $540 — to travel the entire thoroughfare, to as low as $60 to travel from Caymanas to Angels.

Motorists who intend to traverse Angels to/from Mammee Bay in a Class 1 vehicle will now pay $810 down from $1,080. Class 2 users will pay $1,612.50 — $537.50 less than proposed rate — while the rate for motorists in Class 3, is $2,400, down from $3,200. The same stretch will cost Class 4 users $405 — a $135 decrease from the initially proposed rate.

Additionally, Class 3 motorists travelling between Ocho Rios and Linstead — a 39-kilometre stretch — will be asked to pay up to $1,650. The rate for Class 2 vehicles along the same corridor will be $1,110 — $370 less than the proposed $1,480. Class 1 drivers will pay $555, while Class 4 vehicles will attract a toll of $270 — $90 less than the initially proposed rate.

Prime Minister Holness, in speaking yesterday at the official opening ceremony for the thoroughfare at the Caymanas toll plaza, said deliberations will continue to reach a final equilibrium toll in the months to come. The lowered rates came after two days of talks with the toll operator.

“I want to note that the alternative routes are in place, that we have invested in and continue to invest in their improvement, so that the public will always have an alternative. I encourage Jamaicans to budget properly and use the road according to their ability because it is a pay-per-use project; it is not owned by the Government of Jamaica outright, it is a partnership,” the prime minister said to a group of journalists after the event.

Holness also expressed pride in what he described as a significant feat to be accomplished in the island.

“This road also represents the success of partnership between the Government of Jamaica and Government of China, but more so, in a real sense, a partnership between the people of Jamaica and the people of China, in a real way, the workers of Jamaica and the workers of China, who undoubtedly had to overcome language and culture obstacles, to complete the highway on time and in budget,” Holness said.

While appreciative, Holness outlined that the roadway itself does not guarantee economic growth and requires additional work to attract investors.

“We have seen the curious paradox that we have had many large investments, including large investments in highways and roads, but they have had limited impact on economic growth; there are lessons to be learnt from our past experiences,” the prime minister stated.

“Interconnectivity, that’s one lesson… we have to integrate the roads, and as Minster Henry has pointed out, multi-modal, but more importantly we have to utilise the corridor along the road. We have to give reason for people to use the roads, we have to create incentives, and we have to develop the value propositions for investors to come and not just drive on the road but to build along the road,” he added.

Noting that the roadway is scenic, he said there are many opportunities for tourism, legal recreation, light manufacturing, and agriculture along the corridor.

He stated that the Government will be working with the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) — the parent company of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) — to use the opportunities to bring “real growth and job creation and prosperity to the people of Jamaica.”

“We intend to make the most of the highway,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transport Mike Henry disclosed that, up until yesterday morning, there were 443 submissions from the public regarding last week’s proposed toll rates. He said that this is the largest number of responses to this kind of issue.

Like the prime minister, Minister Henry stated that work needs to be done to encourage the development along the roadway, noting that there were to be development along the east-west highway which has not been actualised.

The agreement for the development of this leg of Highway 2000 was signed between CHEC and the Jamaican Government in 2012 and has been completed in the time frame initially stipulated by the contractors.

A section of the highway was also developed by French company Bouygues Construction Compnay.