A $14-million contract was signed yesterday for the construction of new offices for the Island Traffic Authority (ITA) and the Transport Authority in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland.

Transport and Mining Minister Lester ‘Mike’ Henry said the vision behind the combined offices is in keeping with Government’s 2030 National Development Plan outcome for a strong economic infrastructure to promote an effective and efficient sector management.

According to Minister Henry, the new Savanna-la-Mar facility is designed to bring about improved efficiency and customer service. He added that the facility will be a ‘one stop Shop’ that will yield economies of scale, improve efficiency in operations, improve commuter services, effectively enforce regulations, and modernise the management of land transport regulation.

The minister warned the contractor, Chin’s Equipment Rentals and Construction Company, that the work must be completed on time and within budget as his ministry would not be accommodating any overruns and taxpayers must get value for money.

Henry, meanwhile, announced that Cabinet is soon to receive a submission seeking its approval to establish the new Land Transport Authority as a statutory body. The Land Transport Authority will be a merger of the Transport Authority and the Island Traffic Authority.

The transport minister said this new facility will be a prototype of things to come, and if both entities can begin from now to work together, “then when the right time comes, they will be one big happy family, making it easier for the public to do business with government”.

He said that too often bureaucracy and red tape tend to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of individuals doing business with government and it is his intention to change it.