'No partisan decisions in transport ministry'

[Lazie]

Published: Friday | September 18, 2009


Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

Henry
Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry has rejected allegations from the Opposition that politics has been a factor in the decisions on which roads are to be repaired.
Henry has also slapped down the claim that money from the special consumption tax (SCT) on gasolene sale is being used to repair roads in select constituencies.
"In my constituency, (Central Clarendon) $165 million has been spent on repairing damage from Tropical Storm Gustav but in Maxine Henry-Wilson's (South East St Andrew) constituency, $124 million has been spent while $618 million has been spent in Delroy Chuck's (North East St Andrew) constituency," Henry told journalists at a media briefing yesterday.
"Certainly, some people haven't got anything because the thing is based on the priority and we make no effort to change that except to do what is in the interest of what is required.
"But then if you are looking out of the wrong jungle you probably wouldn't recognise, all of these things in the sense of understanding what we are talking about," added Henry.
The minister was respon-ding to Opposition Spokesman on Works Robert Pickersgill who yesterday claimed that the People's National Party had received reports that roads were being repaired in a select number of constituencies.
Pickersgill also expressed concern that an oversight board was yet to be appointed to oversee the Road Maintenance Fund which is financed by the SCT on gasolene sale.
While not responding to the absence of the oversight board, Henry told journalists that the ministry had already allocated the $430 million which it has collected from the SCT since it was introduced in April.
According to Henry, more than half that money has been allocated for urgently needed work in Eastern Portland, which is represented by the Opposition's Dr Donald Rhodd.
Contract tendered
"Dr Rhodd has been asking for this for a long time so has the councillor in the area ... the contract was tendered long ago in anticipation of the cess," said Henry.
He said the ministry had also prepared projects totalling just over $1 billion which is the minimum it expects to collect from the SCT for the rest of this calendar year.
He said a further $133 million is to be spent in Portmore, St Catherine, represented by the Opposition to protect the Dyke Road which is threatened by a river. arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead7.html

[Lazie]

Suh Wrong Jungle wrong again. One clown pon the forum say mouth mek fi say anything. Can he dispute what the minister said? Or its a case of being petty?

[Lazie]

$13b for roadworks
Major plans for aerodromes, cruise piers
BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Government is projecting to spend $13 billion to repair and rehabilitate several roads and bridges as well as infrastructure work across the island over the next few months.
"The bulk of the money [$12 billion] for these projects has already been secured from several international agencies," Patrick Wong, chief executive officer of the National Works Agency (NWA), told the Observer following yesterday's press conference at the transport ministry in Kingston.
The Caribbean Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and Kuwaiti Development Fund were listed among the loan agencies.
Earlier, Transport Minister Mike Henry said $1 billion will be taken from the Road Maintenance Fund, which was boosted by the huge petrol tax imposed on already battered motorists by the Government earlier this year.
The $1 billion being taken from the road fund, the minister said, will be used on 10 projects across the island, majority of which he said, will be completed by yearend.
Among them are roads at Newport West in Kingston, on which $216 million is expected to be spent.
Other projects to be financed by the road fund include:
. disaster mitigation islandwide;
. rehabilitation of retaining structures in the Rio Grande Valley, Portland; Buff Bay Valley, Portland; Papine, Red Light and Hardwar Gap in St Andrew; and Above Rocks, St Andrew;
. road rehabilitation in Fern Gully, St Ann; and
. Soapberry River training in St Catherine.
The Sheffield to Negril main road in Westmoreland, and the main road from Sandy Bay, Clarendon to Old Harbour, St Catherine are among those to receive attention using money sourced from the overseas agencies.
Other projects include:
. rehabilitation and expansion of the Washington Boulevard/Dunrobin Avenue corridor;
. protective rock revetment works for the Rae Town Fishing Village to the Bank of Jamaica in downtown Kingston, and rehabilitation of Port Royal Street;
. rehabilitation of the Red Hills/Sligoville/Bog Walk corridor - a major alternative route whenever the Bog Walk Gorge is impassable; and
. rehabilitation of the May Pen to Trout Hall road in Clarendon.
Nine bridges are also to be replaced over the next five years. Among them are those at Vanity Fair, Linstead, St Catherine; Leith Hall, St Thomas; Sandy Gully/Cassia Park in St Andrew; and Barham in Westmoreland.
In addition, Minister Henry announced that Government intends to revitalise the Jamaica Railway Corporation within the next year and create a new-look Island Traffic Authority with a performance-based and accountability structure and new service delivery standards.
He said, too, that the Ken Jones Aerodrome in Portland and Negril Aerodrome in Westmoreland are to be expanded, while that at Tinson Pen in Kingston is to be relocated and the Vernamfield Cargo Aerodrome is slated for development.
Government also plans to expand training facilities at the Caribbean Maritime Institute; upgrade the Ocho Rios and Montego Bay Cruise Shipping piers; complete phase five of the expansion of the Kingston Container Terminal; and develop a logistics centre at Tinson Pen to offer additional value-added services to shipping lines using the Port of Kingston.
Privatisation of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston was also announced yesterday.
Henry also listed the $3.4 billion spent on Tropical Storm Gustav-related works, including repairs to several gullies, retaining walls and road rehabilitation in seven parishes - St Catherine, St Andrew, Clarendon, Portland, St Thomas, St Mary and St Ann - among accomplishments by his ministry since taking office in September 2007.

[Mosiah]

Govt to build 2 new airports!

[B]
He said, too, that the Ken Jones Aerodrome in Portland and Negril Aerodrome in Westmoreland are to be expanded,