GROUND is to be broken for the construction of a $450-million Type V health facility in Portmore in July this year as the Government moves another step further in giving the Sunshine City parish status.

This is according to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who said the facility, which “is practically a hospital” will eventually be developed into a full-fledged hospital — a vital infrastructure necessary for an area to be deemed a parish.

“We have set some standards as to what is necessary for an area to be considered a parish. The parish should have a hospital, at least… it should have a fire station, at least… it should have police stations, at least. Portmore has most if not all of these things; it needs a hospital,” he said.

The prime minister, who was addressing a town hall meeting last Sunday, said that while the Government is making a massive investment in upgrading the Spanish Town Hospital to offer “high-level services in a regional way” that would also benefit Portmore residents, he acknowledged that residents “need to have your own hospital as well”.

“Therefore, you will start with your Type V but that will now become the core that will eventually morph into a full hospital,” he said.

Holness said the facility, which is to be built in Greater Portmore, will have facilities for dental care, telemedicine, operating areas, maternity services and a mental health clinic, in addition to other health services.

“We have already gone out to tender for the building of this facility. Bids have come in and they are now being evaluated,” he said.

The prime minister said the Administration is also working to address some of the major concerns of residents as parish conferment nears, including the traffic issues encountered when travelling to and from Portmore.

“Portmore now has a fantastic causeway… but in the evenings it can become quite congested and it means you have to pay to come in. So you need to have another entry into Portmore. So, a new entrance to Portmore will be built,” he said.

Holness had already made this announcement two years ago, but he said plans are now advanced for this development.

“The design works have already been done on that. So, they have come up with a design as to how it is going to look and they have done costings and everything. It has gone through the public investment assessment process and it should now be going to procurement,” he said.

Turning to another major roadwork project for Portmore, the prime minister noted that work has begun on the dualisation of Grange Lane.

“So, that roadway will be widened and improved. So, we are doing what is necessary to ensure there is proper ingress and egress out of the parish of Portmore, that you have proper road infrastructure,” he said.

The National Works Agency (NWA) had previously told the Jamaica Observer that the $743-million Grange Lane project, which should have started in December 2022, had hit a snag. It had to be re-tendered as the previous contract awarded had fallen through.

The project, which entails the dualisation of 1.1 kilometres of Grange Lane, from Municipal Boulevard to Madrid Avenue in Independence City, is expected to address the traffic woes in sections of Portmore through the development of four lanes, 3.65 metres wide each, with turning lanes at critical intersections.