Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness officially commissioned the $533-million Port Royal Pipeline Replacement Project on Tuesday, noting that its capacity to deliver a greater flow of water to residents is part of the Government’s larger plan to develop and enhance the earning potential of the historic town.

“You might be asking the question, why Port Royal? Why did we spend it here? Clearly there is a need, but Port Royal is also very strategic. When we were looking at how do we increase the productivity of the country or, put it another way, how do we create new industries for growth, Port Royal was high on the agenda because you have certain heritage assets here that have been for decades, maybe centuries, underutilised, but if properly developed, could provide the revenues that would not only develop Port Royal but develop the wider Jamaica,” Holness said at the commissioning ceremony in the town founded by the Spanish in 1494 and once regarded as the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean.

The pipeline project was completed last August and involved replacing outdated iron pipes with 8.6 kilometres of high-density polyethylene pipes running from Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) roundabout to the National Water Commission (NWC) relift station located at the eastern entrance of Port Royal.

In addition to the pipeline replacement, the relift station was upgraded, giving more than 2,000 residents continuous supply of potable water.

The project represents the second and third phases of upgrade works being carried out by the NWC. The first phase involved the installation of new pipelines from Harbour View to the NMIA roundabout.

On Tuesday, Holness said that not only residents of Port Royal but cruise ship visitors will benefit from a higher volume of potable water, adding that this is the start of the Government’s aim to transform the town’s fortunes.

He explained that investments have already been made to improve facilities for docking cruise ships and accommodating cruise passengers alongside a new museum and restaurant which will be opened soon.

Additionally, Holness acknowledged that addressing the town’s sewerage issue will be an urgent part of the plan to improve Port Royal’s facilities.

“We have one more major investment to do, which is on its way already, and that is in the sewerage. We have actually built the sewage plant. Now, we have to lay the pipes to connect the homes and the facilities to that treatment plant,” he said.

He also promised residents that a major part of the Government’s investment plan is to improve the road from the airport into Port Royal.

“All of this investment that is coming here, it is to create Port Royal as a new destination, not just for tourists to come, but to enhance what is already the case. Port Royal is the destination for people in Kingston and St Andrew. On the weekends, the place is packed. It is an entertainment and festival destination, but to be able to have that to the extent where it adds significantly to our GDP [gross domestic product], we have to make a significant investment,” he stressed.

“So, you’re going to see now, once we put in the sewerage and fix the road — there’s already a hotel here, which I gather is doing quite well — you’re going to see more hotels come, you’re going to see the restaurants improve and we are going to make the investments, not to displace the people who are here, who have built an industrial name and a brand, but to support them further in improving and expanding their product so that when we talk about Port Royal as a destination this is going to be the place where people will choose to come and have their festivals and concerts, where cruise ships will come to explore the rich history that is here,” he added.

While emphasising the importance of generating more revenue through utilising the country’s resources, Holness said that in order to achieve sustainable development, the funding for these projects must come from the country’s own revenues, rather than from borrowed funds.

“We have seen [it], and it has become a destructive element of our history, that if you provide development through borrowing you limit the potential of the development, not just in the long term but in the short term, and you end up paying more for the development than you would have and, worst of all, you end up burdening future generations to pay for your consumption today,” he said.

“This Government is committed to develop Jamaica without depending on borrowing. That commitment depends on a wise electorate. Jamaica can easily go back to the point where we are an indebted country and these facilities that we are now launching and opening and showing off about, they stop. In fact, the reason why we are in the position we are in is because we tried to develop by borrowing,” Holness said.

Member of Parliament for Kingston Eastern and Port Royal Phillip Paulwell used the opportunity to urge the Government to consider improving the town by bringing more attention to Port Royal’s sunken city, the section of the town that sank into the sea when Port Royal was hit by an earthquake on June 7, 1692.

“I think the time to develop the sunken city is right now, and I really want to urge that that be placed on the agenda,” said Paulwell.

He said, too, that on New Year’s Eve he and a few friends went on the harbour to watch the Urban Development Corporation’s fireworks festival.

“It was a most amazing attraction from the harbour side but also, I lamented that there were just a few vessels in the world’s seventh largest harbour. This place should be beaming with activity right around the clock, especially after dark when you can do cruising, you can do a whole host of other things,” Paulwell said.