Dear Editor,

A lot of thoughts raced through my mind as I read of the massive development known as Pinnacle, planned for Montego Bay marine lands. The luxury complex will house four towers with 28 floors each and villas, sports and leisure facilities, restaurants, a private members club as well as shops.

Years ago I lived high up, in a 40-floor tower overseas. I started to think of some of the emergencies, from small fires (caused by cigarette butts and socket overload), elevators getting stuck due to mechanical and power issues, I have even seen a body (someone who jumped). I’ve also seen flooding in the underground parking area due to unexpected overflows caused by rising water levels from a nearby waterway.

Can Jamaica’s fire service respond to these types of emergencies and respond quickly enough to keep residents safe in a complex with four high-rise towers? Do we have the capacity for other emergencies and to respond quickly to people on high floors seeking urgent medical care? What about roads, traffic, and infrastructure? There are no other structures in the marine land area similar in size or structure, will the four towers pose any risk to air traffic, being so close to a major international airport? There can also be noise and other types of environmental pollution. Do we have the labour or expertise for outdoor window washing using suspended scaffolding systems on such high residential buildings?

The proposed development is ambitious, even by Caribbean regional standards. I wonder how many Jamaicans will be able to afford these units, or perhaps the units will be marketed specifically to foreigners in US dollars. Maintenance fees will most likely be astronomical. Indeed, this is a brave project, even Prime Minister Andrew Holness alluded to bravery in his speech at the official ground-breaking ceremony. In Panama City you’ll see a lot of high-rise towers, both commercial and residential. Panama City has a well-developed infrastructure to suit this type of development. It boasts a rapid transit and multiple highways and First-World health-care and emergency services which its economy can sustain.

Shouldn’t we at least complete the Montego Bay bypass to alleviate the critical traffic deadlock in the city before breaking ground for a massive development complex? Also, Jamaica is in the earthquake belt, even if the northern parts of the island are at less risk than the eastern and central areas.

The country is prone to powerful hurricanes. And I wonder about the stability of the marine lands on that strip, surrounded by the sea, to sustain this type of development, considering that there are no similar buildings nearby. We also think of the impact on marine life and ecosystems, possibility of flooding from the nearby sea, and how waste management may impact the area, especially the nearby beaches for which Montego Bay is well known.

Jamaica has not seen this type of development before, so there is much to think about. In Jamaica we tend to proceed with plans based on optics first, everything else comes after, usually when it is too late.

P Chin

chin_p@yahoo.com