SOME $32 million will be spent on rehabilitation work at Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), downtown Kingston, the site selected for the 2024 National Labour Day Project.

Work at the site will be done in several phases. The first phase will involve the building of a ramp and preparations for the installation of an elevator for improved access to IOJ’s lecture hall. The other phases will include the widening and paving of the walkway to Alfresco Lounge as well as its renovation, which lounge serves as a waiting area for patrons and a dining space for employees.

Labour Day will be observed on Thursday, May 23 under the theme ‘Ramp up the access… Show that you care’, with a focus on people with disabilities, the elderly and the vulnerable.

Work at the site will involve the building of a ramp and preparations for the installation of an elevator to enhance access to the institute’s cultural and heritage resources.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange, in providing details, said the $32 million does not include all the voluntary work that’s being put into it.

“We will be getting some support from the CHASE [Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education] Fund, and the ministry has contributed as well to the cost of doing the ramp,” she said.

The minister said the budget will be supplemented by support from the private sector, adding that Urban Development Corporation has offered to provide T-shirts for volunteers on Labour Day.

Meanwhile, Grange said that preliminary work has commenced at the site by Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldiers who are assisting with the construction of the ramp and installation of the elevator.

She expressed appreciation for the work being undertaken by the JDF soldiers, noting that they will be helping with specific projects.

“They have always assisted with the national projects, and I just want to express appreciation for their involvement and the tremendous work that they do in helping us to get the national project going,” she said.

Additionally, the minister said that soldiers are assisting with erecting a bust in honour of the late Minister of Labour Lynden Newland, who was instrumental in establishing the National Insurance Scheme.