Prime Minister Andrew Holness has estimated that work to repair sea water damage done to government and private sector properties from last week’s cold front will amount to billions of dollars.

However, while he could not give a definitive figure, Holness said the Government will be mobilising its emergency processes to get the work started.

“We are expecting that within weeks we should be able to respond to this. Private individuals and government agencies are immediately moving into action to clean the debris. As you can see, work has already started, but outside of that, the long-term solution is that we will have to make a massive investment,”” Holness told journalists following a visit to several shoreline properties damaged by rough tides in St James and Westmoreland on Saturday.

Among the ravaged properties are Pier 1 restaurant and the newly constructed $1.3-billion Harmony Beach Park in St James.

The West End Road in Negril, Westmoreland, also experienced severe damage.

Pier One parking lot was heavily flooded last Tuesday.

The unusual weather brought with it 15 to 20-foot waves. While Harmony park is open, the beach is now closed to the public.

On Saturday, Urban Development Corporation (UDC) General Manager L Robert Honeyghane said the waves left heavy sand deposit on the park and broke the groynes to the western end of the park.

“The new groyne on the eastern end of the park, which we just completed perhaps a year or so ago, has been damaged by about 50 to 60 per cent. This is a massive loss to Harmony Beach Park,” Honeyghane said.

“As it is now, the entire promenade area, which is the closest area to the beach, is now totally inundated with trash and everything that came up. We also noted that all the drains under the promenade area are totally blocked. In order to clear those, we are talking about doing a massive [amount of] work in order for us to bring the park back to normalcy,” added Honeyghane.

He also revealed that the coastal protection or breakwaters have been tremendously compromised and damaged.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said climate change has resulted in rising sea levels for which the country needs to be prepared. He pointed out that most of the road network was constructed in the coastal areas and now the aim is to build new roads inland.

Holmes, who thanked hoteliers for starting the clean-up process on their properties, said the Government will play its part.

“We will do the clean-up and assist where we can with the private beaches, if necessary, but definitely, clearly, we will have to clean up all public access beaches along this corridor,” stated Holness.

Regarding the compromised road in Negril, due to the collapse of the seawall, Holness said a new seawall will have to be constructed utilising the emergency procurement process.