MONTEGO BAY, St James — Dr Horace Chang, minister without portfolio with responsibility for water, works and housing in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, says a decision on the route to develop a periphery road around Montego Bay to reduce the heavy traffic congestion experienced here, will be made by the end of next month.

“We would expect to have a sign off on the (bypass) route by the end of June,” Dr Chang revealed.He, however, noted that the funding for the development of the road is a bit ticklish, but expressed confidence that the monetary concerns should be addressed by the end of December 2017.“We have initiated discussions for financing and expect before the end of the year to have that in place. But it’s a fairly complex financial arrangement. If we toll it we won’t have the traffic on the road; and if we don’t toll it we might not have the money to pay for it. So we have to find a happy medium somewhere,” Dr Chang said.He added: “We are looking at solutions. I think we have found a framework in which to do this and we will be doing it.”He was quick to point out that a periphery road is not the end-all to the city’s chronic traffic challenges, and disclosed that “work is earmarked to be done to bring some resolution or some improvement in and around Montego Bay”.“I expect that by the end of the first quarter of this financial year we should begin work on a programme that we worked out in a meeting we had in Montego Bay to look at improving a number of the roads throughout Montego Bay,” Dr Chang, who is also the Member of Parliament for St James North Western stated.He was speaking at Friday’s press briefing for the Montego Bay Waterfront Rehabilitation Project which constitutes the repair of a protective groyne structure to protect a section of the affected Montego Bay coastline areas running from Closed Harbour Beach, popularly called Dump Up Beach, to One Man Beach, from further erosion.The estimated project cost is US$3 million. Part funding valued at US$600,000 has been sourced from the German Development Bank, KFW, through the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre. Funding is being sought for the other phases.