A tour of the transportation centre being constructed in Half-Way Tree, St. Andrew, by transport and other officials in this November 14 file photograph. - Junior Dowie / Staff Photographer

The Ministry of Transport and Works is reporting growing interest for shop spaces at the new transportation centre which is currently under construction in Half-Way Tree, St. Andrew.

Leo McEwan, public relations officer in the ministry, told The Gleaner yesterday that the ministry and the Port Authority of Jamaica were currently working out a procedure in which the shops would be allotted.

"The ministry and the Port Authority of Jamaica have not finished fine tuning the process so at this time we can't say how the shops will be allotted," he told The Gleaner.

Available next year

Mr. McEwan, however disclosed that 1,840 square metres of shop space would be available when the centre is completed in October next year.

The transportation centre, which is being constructed at a cost of US$71 million (J$4.6 billion) was scheduled to be completed in September 2007, but was pushed back to next year because of the setback the develop-ment experienced when the cement crisis hit the construction industry earlier this year.

Ground was broken for the construction of the state-of-the-art centre by former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson on March 30 last year.

Financing for the construction was secured through a loan of €54.5 million or US$71.3 million from the Belgian Government.

Some 80 per cent of the loan, or €43.5 million is interest-free, while the remainder - €11 million - was secured at a rate of 4.3 per cent.

Upon completion, a total of 640 buses per hour can be received in the centre, providing each stay for not more than three minutes.