St. Thomas’ long road to bright developmental

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Today, Loop News begins a series of articles on the parish of St Thomas, long dubbed the ‘forgotten parish’ locally, but now poised for significant infrastructural and economic development in the near future. The feature will cover the various facets of the parish, including historical, economic, political, social and futuristic elements of life there.

Part 1

With much of its physical landscape, especially its major roadways and other public infrastructure, about to or now being rapidly improved, the parish of St Thomas appears to be poised for major economic and social development into the future.

Soon to be home to a long stretch of one of the newest highways that are being built across the country, the once ‘forgotten parish’, as it had long been widely labelled, is now sitting pretty amid the implementation of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP), which includes a major leg extending from Harbour View in St Andrew to Port Antonio in Portland.

St Thomas is also to benefit from major improvements to the Morant Bay to Cedar Valley roadway, bringing significantly improved road surfaces to parts of the interior of the parish.

The SCHIP, which includes wide-scale infrastructural upgrading along the corridors, is expected to sharply improve the economic base of the parish and, in the process, bring much in the way of opportunities to the local population.

Looking back to day one of the project, in November 2019, Prime Minister Andrew Holness and other officials broke ground for the commencement of the SCHIP.

As a part of the project, approximately 110 kilometres of roadway from Harbour View in St Andrew to Port Antonio in Portland, and 26 kilometres from Morant Bay to Cedar Valley in St Thomas, are to be rehabilitated.

https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content...spects-horizon

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Expansion of highway network to spur affordable housing developments

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Prime Minister Andrew Holness says his Administration's strategic approach to build out the country's highway network will spur growth in the housing sector.

He is optimistic that the focus on highways to reduce travel time will result in more affordable housing solutions.

"I know there are many Jamaicans saying, 'why are we building all these highways, focus on local roads'. There is a strategy at work to develop the country, we have to build out the highway network, so that it opens up lands for housing development and the more lands we open for housing development, the price of the lands will go down," Holness said last Friday while addressing a handing-over ceremony under the social housing programme in Devon, north-east Manchester.

The US$188-million May Pen to Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000 — which will reduce travel time between Kingston, Mandeville and other points west — is scheduled for completion in August.

Holness said when developers focus on building close to urban centres the price of land is high.

"… Everyone is trying to build closer to Kingston where the demand is so high. The price of the land is going to be high, so when we build out the highway network, it helps to moderate in the long term the price of land, so people can live a little bit out in what you would then call suburbs and commute into where they have to work," he said.

When completed the highway will reduce travel time between May Pen and Williamsfield to below 15 minutes.

Holness said the Government is investing in the necessary infrastructure to accommodate more housing solutions.

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news...-developments/