MONTEGO BAY, St James — Upset by a recent pronouncement that the date for the start of construction of the much-anticipated Montego Bay bypass road project has been pushed back until the end of next year, the Montego Bay business community is seeking audience with the Government officials from St James to vent their frustration.

Bigwigs in Government representing St James constituencies include Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang, who also has portfolio responsibility for security; Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte, and minister of state in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Homer David, as well as two-term Member of Parliament (MP) Heroy Clarke.

“We are supposed to write a letter to the ministers seeking a meeting with the membership of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce for our meeting on Wednesday. It’s time we meet them,”Janet Silvera, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the Jamaica Observer.

“There are four heavyweights coming out of the parish of St James. We, the business community, think it’s time that they represent our voices in relation to this bypass road,” declared Silvera.

Conceding that Government was strapped for cash due to the downturn of economic activity caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Silvera, however, argued that St James had been a significant contributor to the national coffers; therefore, infrastructure projects in the parish should be prioritised by the State.

She made reference to the $12.9 billion being spent by Government on roadworks under the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP). The money had been set aside in the 2020/21 Estimates of Expenditure.

“Obviously the south coast has become more important than us. We provide all foreign exchange that they need to support the economy of Jamaica, yet we are constantly placed on the back burner. When are they going to stop from disrespecting us? When are they going to start to recognise our worth? When are they going to understand that this bypass is extremely critical to us continuing the assistance that we now give to the country,” questioned an angry Silvera.

Similar sentiments were echoed by popular St James businessman, philanthropist and major landowner Mark Kerr-Jarrett.

“I think they said it’s budgetary constraints, but my question is, why are they doing less important projects? Surely the MoBay bypass takes precedence over the south coast highway. We are the area of growth, we are the tourism capital, we are the BPO [business process outsourcing] capital of Jamaica. Surely the MoBay bypass takes precedence over the South Coast Highway and the road to St Thomas. It’s just disappointing!” Kerr-Jarrett fumed.

He further argued that, for the economy to rebound from the current downturn and back to the 2019 GDP [gross domestic product] levels, the economy needed to grow by three per cent per annum, “Therefore everything that the Government spends money on needs to be geared towards fast-tracking the growth and recovery of the economy.”

“The MoBay bypass is one of those things that can facilitate the high levels of growth that are needed for us to recover from COVID and even just to get back to 2019 levels. If we continue to grow at the anaemic levels of one per cent that we have been growing, it is going to take us 30 years to get back to 2019 pre-COVID [GDP levels],” Kerr-Jarrett calculated.

“Therefore, it is essential that what money the Government spends on capital projects will deliver the highest returns in growth rates so that we can facilitate and be a catalyst for investment, because that is how we are going to recover from COVID. And I really believe the MoBay bypass and Long Hill bypass are essential and key pieces of infrastructure to facilitate that growth.”

Pondering when the project would be realised, Kerr-Jarrett predicted: “Now it is not going to start until late 2022, and it won’t be finished until when? 2026? It doesn’t make any sense. The attitude that Kingston is Jamaica pervades our thinking at the technocrat and political level, and it is really backward.”

For his part, Mark Hart, founder and executive chairman of Caribbean Producers Limited (CPJ), was also disappointed that the work on the bypass road was again delayed, especially now, given the current reduction of traffic due to the slowing of economic activities caused by the pandemic.

“I think it is unfortunate because the slowdown of activity we have as a result of COVID is actually a great opportunity to carry out infrastructure and projects that are difficult to execute. And certainly we have had a period of reduced traffic on the roads for the last year. So I’d wish we could get it done before things get back to pre-COVID levels,” Hart insisted.

He added that acute traffic congestion had been a perennial problem for the city “and we would have loved to have taken the opportunity to address it now”.

“At the same time, I think there are so many things that they [Government] have to prioritise, but I would think this [bypass project] would be at the top of the list. So whatever can be done to have it started as soon as possible I think they should relook at it and make sure they are making absolutely every effort to start it in the earliest possible time.

“Things are tolerable right now, so they should not wait until things are intolerable and then have a long period of frustration and all the other missed opportunities.”

President of the Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ) Gloria Henry argued that the opening of Harmony Beach Park, a $1.3-billion project undertaken by Urban Development Corporation (UDC), would be accompanied by additional traffic congestion in the city.

“I am very disappointed about the delay, because I expected it would have started this year, because I expect that it would help to stimulate growth in the west. Outside of the importance of connectivity between east and west, and dealing with the traffic situation, I know that people are working at home now, but with the new park on Howard Cooke [Highway] I expect that traffic is going to once again become a serious challenge on that thoroughfare,” Henry reasoned.

“I think that the bypass road at this time will help to stimulate the important growth and development as well as create employment opportunities for many people in this region. Of course, I am disappointed.”

Last week, Ivan Anderson, managing director of the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC), disclosed that construction of the Montego Bay Perimeter Road Project is now expected to begin by late 2022.

Anderson noted that the bypass project, which involves the construction of 25 kilometres of roadway, consists of two segments — the 15-kilometre Montego Bay bypass project starting from Ironshore and to Bogue Road, and the Long Hill bypass involving construction of 10 kilometres of highway from Montego Bay to Montpelier.