OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Repairs to the main cruise ship terminal at Ocho Rios in St Ann, which was damaged early last year during an unusual weather event, are expected to be completed by July 30, well ahead of the start of the cruise season in September.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett made the disclosure during a Jamaica Labour Party ‘Choose Jamaica’ public forum held at the Anglican church in Ocho Rios on Wednesday. He spoke of the upgrading that was done and how locals will benefit.

“We will move crafters onto the pier, so once the visitors come off the ships, you will be right there. We have to grow together and stop at nothing to ensure that everything percolate to everyone,” said Bartlett.

There have been no cruise ship arrivals at the port’s main pier, berth 2, since February last year. It sustained major infrastructural damage after severe weather caused a cruise ship to repeatedly slam against it.

Detailed assessments were done to determine the extent of the damage and Cabinet approved US$20 million for Habourside Engineering Consultants (HEC) to do repairs. HEC was also hired to design a new pier that can accommodate the largest cruise ships now available.

“We are improving the pier to accommodate two mega ships, this is 14,000 people per day,” Bartlett said Wednesday night.

The tourism minister said he is also working to make the resort town easier to navigate for visitors and industry workers.

“The aim is to change and reimagine the town to make sure that all our players have access to our visitors and they have access to them,” Bartlett said.