Gov’t assures that rights and interest of land owners and residents will be protected with construction of Port Antonio Bypass in Portland

Minister with responsibility for works Robert Morgan has assured that the rights and interest of land owners and residents will be protected, as the authorities move forward with construction of the Port Antonio Bypass in Portland.

The construction phase of the US$81 million project is set to commence in the next 8 weeks.

Contractors, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has started some clearance activities on government owned land.

However some 292 parcels of land will be acquired in part or completely, for the construction of the road.

The National Works Agency says its working closely with the National Land Agency to ensure that affected persons in Port Antonio are suitably engaged. Notices have been served on interested parties and discussions are underway in respect of compensation for land take.

East Portland MP Isaat Buchanan raised the issue of compensation at the recent meeting of the Standing Finance Committee with the Works Minister, querying whether the government had considered payment of replacement value rather than market value.

Mr. Buchanan noted that some 313 housing structures would be affected resulting in about 1,800 persons being displaced. He sought a response from minister with responsibility for settlements Robert Montague whether or not lands would be made available for residents to relocate.

Mr. Montague assured that the concerns of the residents, would not be ignored, while indicating that the authorities are willing to hold discussions with Mr. Buchanan.

Under phase one, the 7.5 kilometre road, will stretch from Turtle Crawl Harbour in the east of Port Antonio to the community of Norwich in the west. The second phase of the project will see the construction of an 11 kilometre stretch from Turtle Crawl Harbour to Boston Bay.