MONTEGO BAY, St James — As the Government moves to acquire the last few parcels of land needed for construction of the Long Hill Bypass in St James, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for works Robert Morgan on Wednesday underlined the delicate balancing act that requires.

“The challenge has not been the availability of money to pay for the land. Most of the challenge has to do with engaging in the proper process to ensure that the Government doesn’t end up in court. And also convincing some persons — who hold their land so dear to their heart — that they do not want to part with it,” Morgan said in response to questions from reporters during a tour of the Montego Bay Perimeter Road Project.

The Long Hill Bypass was a late addition to the project, pushing its price tag up by US$100 million to US$347 million. It will provide an alternate route to the winding traffic-prone route that is now heavily used.

Morgan pointed out that major projects often face land acquisition challenges as long-held private property may be affected, with some owners valuing their assets above market rates, requiring negotiation to reach a fair compromise.

“Some persons do not want to give up their land no matter how much money you offer them; you have to find ways and means of resolving those issues. And then there is always, and everybody knows it, there’s a process in the Government system to procure these things,” the minister explained.

“You cannot, just as a Government, get up and pay somebody for the land. It has to go through a very rigorous process. Because land tenure is a very peculiar and very well-debated aspect of the law, and we have to acquiesce ourselves to those principles and those legal requirements,” he added.

According to Morgan, there are a few outstanding properties to be acquired for the project.

“We can say with confidence that most of the issues have been resolved there. There are very few, I think it’s about six parcels that are challenging on the Long Hill side, and we’re working through those,” he said.

“But the road will be built because the Government does have the ability to take land now and pay later. It’s a last resort. We do not want to do that. We want to ensure that both the developer — the owner of the contract — and the land owner are happy with the outcome of the land acquisition,” Morgan added.

The Montego Bay Perimeter Road Project is a design-build construction contract with China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC). The scope of works includes design and construction of the Montego Bay Bypass Road (15.1 kilometres); the Barnett Street/West Green Avenue Road Rehabilitation and expansion works; design and construction of the Long Hill Bypass to reduce traffic congestion and a comprehensive drainage study of the Montego Bay Bypass area.

— Horace Hines