ST JAMES, Jamaica — Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, officials from his ministry and Montego Bay city leaders, over the weekend laid blocks to symbolise the commencement of a project to create a new welcome sign at the roundabout in the vicinity of the Sangster International airport.

The project, which is to be executed by the Tourism Product Development Company Ltd (TPDCo), is being sponsored by the Tourism Enhancement Fund to the tune of $17 million dollars.

The aim is to have the new sign completed in December as the previous sign was destroyed through a motor vehicle accident, the tourism ministry said in a release this morning.

The ministry also said the development falls within the extension of the Eastern Gateway Project, which is a series of beautification works running west along the Elegant Corridor from Greenwood, to the MBJ Sangster International Airport roundabout.

Bartlett, in explaining the importance of the sign, said “It is timely and essential as it will speak to the emotions we want to conjure up in our locals and the thousands of visitors that must traverse this area.

“We want all our visitors to have that warm welcome and for us to continue to work even harder that they will feel this welcome through our Jamaican hospitality for which we are known worldwide. The sign will be the first monument they see when entering from the Sangster International Airport and the last when leaving,” Bartlett said at the ceremony on Saturday.