MONTEGO BAY, St James — A purchase agreement is now in place for the acquisition of lands adjacent to the 32-year-old Type Five Montego Bay Health Centre for its expansion by early 2027. The institution, which sees hundreds of patients daily, is currently bursting at the seams.

“We have an agreement with the owner of the land. There’s a purchase agreement that is in place and we’re now going through the motions of that transaction — legal documentation and otherwise — to acquire that property,” revealed Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton during a press conference held at S Hotel in Montego Bay last Thursday.

The expansion will include construction of a five-floor administrative building on the neighbouring property, a car park, and conversion of the existing administrative blocks into clinic space.

“We will begin — as we work through the legalities — a process of looking at the existing Type Five health centre and getting the appropriate professionals through the procurement process for a proper design and layout of what the new Type Five will look like, adding more square footage space but also allowing for parking,” stated Tufton.

In April 2023 he had promised major upgrades to the health centre which was constructed in 1993.

In making the announcement at the time Tufton did not provide a cost or timeline for the upgrading work. He did, however, note that the health facility had outgrown its optimal usage and declared that he would be leading the construction process.

However, in response to queries from the media last Thursday he did give some timelines.

“I think next year we will use to prepare for a shovel-ready project, which may mean that the project itself would start in the following year but a lot of work would have to be done. The technical work [would be done] during the course of next year because I consider this year to be almost coming to a close,” said the health minister.

“You will see block and mortar in starting late 2026, perhaps sometime late 2026 or very early 2027 — that’s if all other things are equal,” added Tufton.

In September 2024, parish manager for the St James Health Department Lennox Wallace revealed during a regular monthly general meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation that purchasing agreements for the neighbouring Montego Bay Ice Factory were almost complete.