THE ENGINES of heavy duty trucks and equipment roared on Saturday, August 10, as heaps of debris and other unwanted material were cleared from the streets and open lots and trucked out of the shipping business district of Newport West in Kingston.
This signaled the start of a major cleanup exercise, being spearheaded by the Newport West Corporate Citizens Association (NWCCA), backed by financial support from its members and other Corporate entities in the area, including the Shipping Association of Jamaica, which donated $500,000 to the cause. The project was formally launched on Friday, August 9, and the major part is expected to last for two weeks.
Metropolitan Parks and Markets has been contracted to carry out the initial cleanup and subsequent maintenance activities. A beautification and tree-planting exercise is to be implemented later to complement the programme. Overall, the clean- up is estimated to cost at least $1.5 million.
As the MPM clean-up crew worked, a team of representatives from the Association, led by the President, Ruel Gibson was on hand to oversee Saturday's operations.
"I am pleased with the work that has been done so far," commented the President following the first few days of work, "We have already made quite an impression with the clearance of many areas".
Pointing out that the majority of the work was completed on the weekend, Mr. Gibson explained, however, that aspects of the work had proceeded slowly during the week, because of the movement of vehicular traffic in the week-day business hours.
He said as a result of the clean-up exercise, several companies which had not initially supported the venture, were positively commenting on the clean-up and pledging their support.
"We expect that as we continue we will see more people expressing satisfaction and joining the effort in a tangible way", the President noted, while adding that the progress of the work will shortly be assessed.
