By John Myers, Jr., Staff ReporterSEGMENT TWO of the problem-plagued Northern Coastal Highway project, which was rescheduled to be completed one year after the original completion date, is to now cost the country nearly US$130 million.
Dr. Alwyn Hayles, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Works, told reporters on Wednesday that the project was estimated to have cost US$104 million originally, inclusive of the cost of acquiring lands and relocating utilities. However, that cost has now been projected to reach US$128.9 million.
Dr. Fenton Ferguson, State Minister of Transport and Works, in his contribution to the sectoral debate in Parliament on Tuesday, revealed that the delay in the construction of segment two was "due in small measure to adverse weather conditions, and largely due to tardiness in the relocation of (installation for) utilities. The completion schedule has had to be revised from the original 30-month contract duration ending June 2004, to June 2005."
Desmond Malcolm, project director for the construction of the highway, explained in a previous interview with The Gleaner, that "there were a number of difficulties in acquiring land, some of which we did through compulsory acquisitions, lengthy negotiations, and in some cases through legal action, so our costs had escalated beyond the initial projected costs."
But Dr. Fenton Ferguson noted in his sectoral presentation, "We have advanced the land acquisition and utility relocation to 90 per cent, while fully resettling the project-affected persons." He noted some of the works on the highway had been re-scoped, resulting in a reduction in the cost of land acquisition, traffic congestion in resort areas and costly rock excavation work.
90 PER CENT LAND ACQUIRED
Dr. Ferguson outlined that up to March 2004, 99 per cent of the land had been acquired, 96 per cent of the utilities relocated and 96 per cent of the affected residents relocated. The 97-kilometre segment from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios is now slated for completion in June 2005, one year after the original completion date.
The Northern Coastal Highway project is funded jointly by the Government of Jamaica and the European Union (EU) in the form of a grant. As condition to receiving the grant, the EU stipulated that the contractor should have clear and unrestricted access, acquisition of all necessary lands be made, affected persons resettled and utilities relocated.
The project is being done in three phases: segment one, which stretches from Negril to Montego Bay; segment two, from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios; and segment three, from Ocho Rios to Fair Prospect in Portland.
In the meantime, Dr. Ferguson said the tender for the contract on segment three will be launched in August and the contract is to be signed in May 2005 for the commencement of work in October 2005.
