KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Portmore Resilience Park in St Catherine is 50 per cent complete and remains on schedule to be finished by September 2025.

This was confirmed by Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, who toured the project site last Friday.

Holness indicated that, when finished, the Resilience Park will become the “pride of parks”.

Additionally, he said it will be the next in a series of parks being constructed as part of the Government’s commitment to have one in every parish, and in line with the Portmore Municipality’s impending change in status.

“The truth is that we have had Emancipation Park, we built the Harmony Park and now we’re building the Resilience Park. These parks are all named for important values of our country – harmony and resilience. The commitment we make is that all parishes in Jamaica will have a parish park,” the prime minister stated.

“So Portmore, which will become the newest parish for Jamaica, this will be its parish park and the name says it all. Resilience, the ability to withstand shocks and hardships, absorb and recover even better than you were before, of your own will and volition, and that is what we see in Portmore,” Holness added.

The Portmore Resilience Park is being created with climate-smart technology, which will assist in combatting the effects of climate change.

It is being built on 21.5 acres of land at a cost of $4.4 billion and is fully funded by the Jamaican Government.

The park will include a 700-metre jogging track that runs through the complex; tennis and pickleball courts; an indoor centre for netball, badminton and volleyball, as well as a multipurpose event space; an outdoor gym; and large outdoor concert area.

An area is being reserved as a transportation hub, another for commercial use, and there will also be a water feature in the park.

Recycled materials are being used where possible, and the entire park will be lit with power generated by solar panels.

The green areas will comprise drought-tolerant plants, and drip irrigation will be used to reduce waste.

Prime Minister Holness, in highlighting how attractive the park will be on completion, urged the residents to take care of the infrastructure and treat it like they do their homes.

“This will be a lovely park when it is complete. I can imagine on a Sunday evening, or even on a Friday evening, the energy and life that will be here as the people of the new parish of Portmore come to enjoy this wonderful public space,” he said.

“Of course, for all parks anywhere, they are just as good as how the people maintain them. So yes, the UDC (Urban Development Corporation) will be responsible for the maintenance of the park. But the truth is that no matter how many wardens you have, and how much you sweep up and clean up, if persons using the park drink their water and throw the bottle on the ground, that is just going to take away from the value of the park.

“So, when the park is built, I implore all the persons who are going to use the park to care for [it]. Own the park as if it is your home, and this is your front yard,” Holness said.

He advised that the park will be opened to the public about a month or two after it is completed, adding that he anticipates seeing residents utilise the space.

–         JIS