Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

LEE

SPANISH TOWN, St. Catherine:

RESIDENTS OF Portmore and surrounding areas are set to benefit from the construction of a 60-room hospital facility, to be built in the municipality at a cost of US$60 million.

The hospital, which has been contemplated for some time now, will be built in the Newlands area on a 52-acre property.

The announcement was made by Portmore Mayor George Lee at his re-election launch at the Lions Civic Centre in Edgewater on Sunday evening.

Mayor Lee told the gathering that construction of the modern facility will be conducted by a company from The Cayman Islands, in collaboration with an American counterpart, and that there will be several Jamaican doctors as shareholders of the new facility.

To ease burden

"While it will be a 60-room facility at the start, eventually there will be expansion to cater for a wider audience," said Mayor Lee.

For two years now, various meetings have been held on the matter among the stakeholders, the developers and the Portmore Municipal Council. An assessment was also done to determine how feasible the project would be on completion.

The mayor said it was all systems go this time around and that actual construction will begin in January. Several persons present said they hoped the new hospital would ease the burden faced when Portmore residents are forced to travel outside the community to seek medical attention.

Mayor Lee also noted that the unemployment problems faced by the municipality, environmental issues and the building of a small complex were high on his agenda if and when he is re-elected.

Mayor Lee, the first directly elected mayor in Jamaica's history, will be seeking a second term in office when the next local government election is called within the next two months.