MONTEGO BAY, St James — Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon has put occupants of sections of Bogue Industrial Estate on notice that they must be ready, within the next six months, to pay for the land they occupy. That is how long he anticipates it will take to instal the infrastructure needed to subdivide the property and generate splinter titles.

The property is popularly referred to as Bogue Land.

“For several years we have had to be going back and forth with the occupiers of the properties and today we are moving forward where the settlement of that saga is concerned,” Vernon told journalists following last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation.

He explained that a few years ago they met with occupants and proposed that funds raised from the sale of lands would be used to install the infrastructure needed to subdivide the land, allowing occupants to officially be property owners. According to Vernon, that offer was rebuffed through lawyers retained by some occupants who insisted the infrastructure should be installed first and they would take it from there. The corporation accepted.

“Today, I’m announcing that the council has decided to put to tender the infrastructural upgrade for the Bogue Land area, the entire Bogue Industrial Estate that is under the ownership of the St James Municipal Corporation,” Vernon stated.

“The St James Municipal Corporation will put in infrastructure, we will proceed with the completion of the subdivision, the splintering of the titles, and then they would be asked to purchase,” he added.

It is estimated that it will take half a year to get through the procurement process, execution and completion. The mayor stressed that once work is completed, occupants “must be in a state of readiness to purchase the property that they are on”.

The Bogue Land issue has been a challenge across successive Administrations, with strong political undertones. Vernon is convinced he has finally dealt with the matter.

“The uncertainty surrounding whether or not they will be purchasing the property, the uncertainty surrounding the direction of the Bogue Land matter is now clear,” the mayor insisted.

He said the municipal corporation will meet with occupants in March to explain the approach being taken and provided some insight on how already erected structures can be handled.

“It means that the existing buildings there without building plans will have to have their owners submit their application so we can look at the option of approval through the as-built process. So, you can apply for an approval as-built and we will be looking at that,” Vernon said.

One crucial aspect of the discussions to come — how much the land is worth — has already been settled, in the mayor’s view.

“The good thing about the ruling — when they brought it to the Land Divestment Committee and Cabinet and we got the information from the Integrity Commission — is that they instructed us to do the sale at market value,” he said.

“So once we have completed the infrastructural work and we have re-looked at the space, then the new market value will be established and that is the expected value at which it will be sold,” he added.

Funds raised from the sale are expected to be used to upgrade a number of the corporation’s assets.

“We have things that we need to address immediately: The Charles Gordon Market, other sections across the municipality, there are several things that we have to address as well but these are some of the key items,” Vernon said.

“We have an arcade to build for our vendors, we have multi-storey car parks that we have been looking at to improve parking within the city of Montego Bay. So we want to re-purpose the funds to the enhancement of our municipality,” he explained.

Vernon is looking forward to the end of the thorny Bogue Land saga.

“The next talk we talk about Bogue Lands is the signing of the contract with the contractor to start the infrastructural upgrade so we can commence the work and close off with the sale,” he said.

“We have to ensure that the over two decades débâcle will be laid to rest in 2026. We made this commitment last year, we followed through with our plan and we are closing it this year,” he reiterated.

Bogue Industrial Estate in St James. Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon anticipates it will take six months to instal the infrastructure needed to subdivide Bthe property and generate splinter titles.