ADELPHI, St James — If Member of Parliament for St James East Central Edmund Bartlett has his way, construction will start next year on a new highway from Salt Marsh, Trelawny to Adelphi, St James in his constituency, connecting with the Montego Bay perimeter road, as part of plans to establish Adelphi as a satellite city to the St James capital.

“I am not talking out of term but I am telling you that a mega development of a highway from Salt Marsh through Adelphi to connect with the bypass that is being built is on the plans for 2024. And I am going somewhere to ensure that the money is provided because I am not going anywhere until all of that is finished and done,” Bartlett said.

“This town of Adelphi, the infrastructure is being put in place bit by bit. And so we are going to have to look at the square and when the new highway is talked through and done… perhaps it will bypass the square, go a little north of the square so as to able a new corridor to develop for the expansion of the area,” he added.

He also revealed that the finishing touches are now being applied to the construction of a 400,000-gallon tank in nearby Cedar Hill, to which water will be pumped from two new wells at Canaan. The massive tank is the final phase of a billion-dollar water distribution system, scheduled for completion this month. When commissioned, the system is expected to alleviate water woes in Adelphi and surrounding communities.

Bartlett, who was speaking at a launch of free Wi-Fi by the Universal Service Fund [USF] in Adelphi on Friday, said recent infrastructure development in and around township amounts to roughly $1.2 billion.

He was making reference to the construction of multi-purposed sports complex in neighbouring Content, the upgrading of the police station and health centre in Adelphi.

He also noted that the National Housing Trust (NHT) will soon be adding some 150 new housing units/serviced lots in the area.

“So we want to make this complete area the real dormitory area, new schools to be built, new houses. The NHT is going to be expanding the housing programme next door across there at Grove. They have another 125 lots and units to be established there. We are making Adelphi the next important township of St James,” Bartlett, who is also the tourism minister, said.

He noted that Adelphi sits in the middle of 6,000 new hotel rooms that will be added to the tourism sector between St James and Trelawny within the next decade.

“Adelphi is within distance from Montego Bay to Falmouth. In the next five to 10 years the eastern side of Montego Bay, Rose Hall area will see at least 4,000 additional hotel rooms. We see 700 rooms now [being built by] RIU that will be opened May of 2024. I am going to London to meet with a certain company to discuss the expansion and development of a new hotel next to Royalton in the Falmouth area. And then we have Harmonization to come and the development of Amaterra next door. So Trelawny and this area of St James will have pretty close to 6,000 new rooms in the next five to 10 years,” Bartlett said.

“Adelphi sits in the middle of that kind of development and we have the land. We will have the water, we now have the Internet connectivity, we have the security arrangement, we have the health facility, we have the community development facility with the multi-purposed mini stadium and I think we will be ready for new developments now. People will work in the hotels over there in Falmouth and the hotels over there in Montego Bay and live here in Adelphi and surrounding communities,” said Bartlett.