ADELPHI, St James — Buoyed by the nearly $1.5-billion infrastructure investments in and around the community over the past two years, Tourism Minister and Member of Parliament for St James East Central Edmund Bartlett is upbeat that Adelphi is on the cusp of transforming into the satellite city he has long dreamed of.

“We have been working assiduously to realise the dream of making Adelphi into a satellite city and now with some $1.5 billion in infrastructure investments we are now inching closer to that dream,” Bartlett told the Jamaica Observer West following last week’s official opening of the refurbished Adelphi Police Station in St James, which was rehabilitated at a cost of over $40 million.

“The development of Adelphi is foremost in our minds. We have been talking about this development for a while, we have looked at what kind of structures and what arrangements are necessary to create this community in the township and to restore the glory of its former years.”

The facility was opened by National Security Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang during a ceremony held on the grounds of the police station last Friday.

The upgraded station, which now boasts a Criminal Investigation Branch, three administration offices, a female dormitory and three restrooms, received infrastructural support under the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) Poverty Reduction Programme, through grant funding from the European Union (EU).

The St James East Central MP, who highlighted that a mini-stadium is also in the works for the area, announced that by the end of the year, he will be partnering with Member of Parliament for Trelawny Northern Tova Hamilton in a $300-million project to rehabilitate the roadway from Salt Marsh in Trelawny to Adelphi.

“Here is the coup de grâce. This one is a little more than ours because we believe that it’s a whole series of moving parts that must come together to make us into a complete township of Adelphi, and connectivity is important. So we’re starting from Salt Marsh and in collaboration with the new Member of Parliament, Tova Hamilton, we are going to be refurbishing that entire roadway from Salt Marsh all the way to Adelphi and the first $300 million has been approved to ensure that activity can begin before Christmas this year,” Bartlett noted.

He also shared that within a few months the water woes in and around the area will end with the expected completion of the Canaan Water supply system.

“We started the programme that you want to hear about, the water problem. And we have put in new pumps at Canaan, we have built new wells in Canaan, we have built a new tank at Cedar Hill and I have just approved $180 million for the distribution system to begin to move the water from Canaan to the tank so that we can have water now in everybody’s home within the next few months,” Bartlett told the gathering at the opening of the upgraded police station.

“So we [are] talking about here, a billion dollars for the water, $300 million for the road rehabilitation and $107 million for the community health and the police station, and $150 million for a new-mini stadium to be built, and Adelphi is ready to begin to take back its position as a premier community area of St James. So a satellite city is what is intended.”

Bartlett, however, argued that a high school is important in a satellite city, and said he has already approached Education Minister Fayval Williams “and we are talking about education development for the area”.

“We have to have a high school at a minimum here in Adelphi to complete that process.”

Additionally, Bartlett announced that he has commenced dialogue with Justice Minister Delroy Chuck for the return of a courthouse in Adelphi.

“So we have refurbished the police station. The courthouse was here but now we have to go all the way to Montego Bay for justice. So we want to bring back justice to Adelphi. So we will have police security and justice in Adelphi. So the minister of justice and I had a discussion in regards to the courthouse,” Bartlett remarked.

“So, this is a community that has had a vintage, a history, a tradition that is worth not only recording, but also of restoring and I want to do that as the Member of Parliament and I am thankful for the support that we have gotten.”

Dr Chang, in his address, called on the community members to support the police as they strive to achieve safe communities.

“Public support not only by the community, but by those in positions of responsibility and leadership is necessary to ensure we take the police to where it ought to be. Any attempt to belittle the police undermines the work that is being done,” stated the security minister.

Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson argued that the upgraded police station will improve police service in the policing district.

“The police station is a JCF [Jamaica Constabulary Force] station, but it really belongs to the community. The purpose of this is to deliver service to the community. The community should feel compelled and free to come to us, not just policing matters, but for concerns,” the commissioner stated.

EU Ambassador to Jamaica Marianne Van Steen expressed confidence that the refurbished facility will enhance policing services in the area.

“I have no doubt that the renovation and rehabilitation work conducted here at Adelphi will improve policing services and the interaction with no less than 15,000 residents of the communities of Dumfries, Goodwill, Orange, Somerton and Hampden. I therefore thank the police officers who worked with the teams with remarkable professionalism and dedication,” said Van Steen.