Prime Minister Andrew Holness has outlined that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Jamaica and China Harbour Engineering Company signals vision, confidence, and a continued commitment to transforming Jamaica’s infrastructure and will be valid for the next two years.

Holness further revealed that the project facilitates critical feasibility and impact assessment for the proposed extension of the North-South Highway westward to Discovery Bay in St Ann’s and eastward to Tower Isle in St Mary. “It is about productivity and mobility and the promise of a better life. It lays the literal and figurative foundation for long-term national development,” the prime minister said.

He revealed that major investments to expand and modernise Jamaica’s road network are guided by the understanding that roads are the engines of commerce. “They are conduits of opportunity and the catalysts of national cohesion. The North South Highway, commissioned over a decade ago, has become a symbol of this transformation, a modern corridor linking the capital and the industrial centres to the vibrant coastal towns of northwestern Jamaica.”

The prime minister further highlighted that development never stands still. “As our economy and tourism sector expand and more Jamaicans travel for work, school, and leisure, our road network faces increasing pressure. Traffic studies confirm what commuters have been saying for the past decade. The existing North South Highway corridor is overburdened; congestion now hampers productivity, it compromises safety, and it is a limiting factor on our growth potential,” Holness added.

To address this, he revealed that the government and its partners have developed two complementary projects. “The first is the North Coast Highway Improvement Project, which will expand and widen the existing North Coast Highway. And two, the extension of the North-South Toll Highway both westwards and eastwards.

“The proposed highway extension, the westward section from Mammee Bay to Discovery Bay in St Ann, is approximately 25.2 kilometres, and eastwards from Mammee Bay to Tower Isle in St Mary, that’s approximately 15 kilometres,” he continued.

Furthermore, Holness expressed that attempting to upgrade a heavily used roadway without providing an alternate route will cause significant disruption and dislocation. “We saw that consistently when we were improving the South Coast Highway corridor. And even to this day, we are still having challenges because the truth is we were not able to divert traffic onto an alternate route. So we were literally building the road while we were driving on it. It created significant dislocations for residents and for businesses.

“…And so we are going to pursue both projects, both the upgrade of the existing highway and the extension of the North-South Highway. But we’re going to be strategic. We’re going to do the North South Highway extension, the toll extension first, before we undertake any upgrade or construction on the existing alignment,” Holness continued, revealing that under this agreement, CHEC will conduct all necessary studies – technical, financial, environmental and social.

The signing of a revised MoU is between the Government of Jamaica through the National Road Operating and Constructing Company Limited (NROCC) and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, and longstanding partner in infrastructure development, the China Harbour Engineering Company.