Bertram THE PARISH Infrastructure Development Programme (PIDP), under which 41.7 kilometres of parochial roads were rehabilitated in 2000, is to be expanded this year, according to Minister of Local Government, Youth and Community Development, Arnold Bertram.
Last year, almost $130 million was spent on the construction and rehabilitation of roads in Clarendon, Hanover, Portland, St. Thomas, Trelawny and Westmoreland. Funding was provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as part of a $2 billion loan agreement signed between that institution and the Local Government Ministry in 1999.
Under this agreement, more than $650 million will be spent on road rehabilitation over a three-year period.
The Minister said that the programme would be accelerated this year and already contracts valued at $37 million have been signed for roadwork in Manchester and St. Elizabeth.
In addition, about $500 million would be spent on the upkeep of parochial roads as part of the Ministry's road maintenance programme.
"We now have in place a dedicated fund for the maintenance of roads. This comes from revenue paid for licensing motor vehicles, two-thirds of which comes to this ministry. This year it will amount to a little less than $500 million," Minister Bertram pointed out.
These funds will be dispersed, on a monthly basis, to the Local Authorities who are responsible for carrying out the work in the parishes.
The Local Government Ministry is responsible for more than 13,000 kilometres of the country's parochial road network.
Mr. Bertram said that given the extent of this responsibility, the Ministry was now moving to have the funding for its road maintenance programme increased.
"We are in the process of asking the Ministry of Finance to give us the other one-third (of the revenue from motor vehicle licences) because there is so much to be done," he said.
