Mark Titus, Enterprise Reporter

Shaw and Douglas

Billions more needed to fix Jamaica's roads

THE NATIONAL Works Agency's (NWA) communications pointman, Stephen Shaw, says it will cost Jamaican taxpayers in the region of $10-$15 billion per year to repair and maintain the island's road network.

"We have direct responsibility for roughly 5,000km of roadway (main-road network)," he tells The Sunday Gleaner. "There is also some 24,000km of parochial roads, as well as about 5,000km of farm roads.

"Based on our own surveys, we are looking at roughly 51 per cent of our main-road network that is really in a bad condition, in need of reconstruction," Shaw says. "But to do this, it will require somewhere in the region of $10-$15 billion per year over a period of time to really arrest this kind of situation.

Shaw argues that Jamaica's location in a hurricane belt has made its road infrastructure susceptible to constant bombardment by storms in recent years, which has hampered long-term rehabilitation plans.

"Now, over the years, we have never really received that kind of budgetary support," Shaw says. "When you consider the numbers of hurricanes, flood events (and) natural disasters that we have encountered in Jamaica since the establishment of the NWA in 2001, we have had a major event to deal with every year except for 2006," he adds.

However, Easton Douglas, a former minister of housing and environment, says such an undertaking will require a lot more.

"Fifteen billion dollars will not be enough. I believe it will cost closer to $20 billion just to refurbish our roads," he says. "It would have taken $10-$15 billion a year or two ago, but with what is happening now regarding the oil prices, global economy and the fact that we have to import a lot of the products, we are certainly looking at a bigger price tag."

While unable to provide this newspaper with previous or current allocations to the agency, Shaw says some $3 billion is now in the agency's coffers from the hurricane flood-damage programme, but explained that "the budget would be well over that".

responsible for roads

Formerly the Public Works Department, the NWA was established in April 2001 under the Public Sector Modernisation Programme and is directly responsible for Jamaica's main-road network, consisting of approximately 5,000 km of Class A, B and C thoroughfares.

There are also 14,895 km of parochial roads, 1,500 km of farm roads and 4,200 km of community roads. Parish councils are responsible for parochial roads, while farm roads are the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture, through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority.

reducing traffic delays

Under its Traffic Management and Control Programme, the NWA plans and undertakes engineering projects aimed at reducing traffic delays, as well as conducts surveys and studies that are crucial to road design and traffic flow.

The programme also involves the rehabilitation and installation of traffic signals and road markings islandwide, the planning and implementation of measures to improve traffic flow in urban areas. The agency is also concerned with the provision of specialist services in the field of traffic and transportation, engineering and the administration of the Road Traffic Act.

local, int'l funding

In the meantime, the Ministry of Transport and Works says the locally funded projects for road repairs will amount to $J2.5 billion for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. However, bilateral/multilateral funding is set at J$4.5 billion. These include the North Coast Highway (segment three) and new projects. "We are unable to give last year's (2007-2008) figures at this time, but it was a lot more than what the agency has got to work with, due to Hurricane Dean and the many instances of flooding and road damage," Reginal Allen, communications manager at the ministry, says. mark.titus@gleanerjm.com