KINGSTON, Jamaica — Work under the Government’s Relief, Emergency Assistance and Community Help (REACH) programme is expected to be completed by the end of June 2025.

REACH was initiated to repair widespread road damage caused during the passage of Hurricane Beryl and subsequent weather events.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for works, Robert Morgan, provided an update on the programme while making his contribution to the 2025/26 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 3.

An initial $3 billion was allocated to repair community roads, with Members of Parliament (MPs) able to select the roads that were of major concern to constituents.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the provision of an additional $2 billion for road patching, which brought the total allocation to $5 billion.

Morgan informed that the road patching segment of the programme is 80 per cent to 90 per cent complete, while the constituency-based programme is at 72 per cent completion, with both segments expected to conclude by the end of this month.

Morgan said that every constituency in the country has benefited from REACH.

“The impact of the REACH programme cannot be questioned. Out of the $3 billion, each MP had the opportunity to recommend $20 million worth of patching in their constituency,” he pointed out.

— JIS