CONTRACTS SIGNED FOR ROAD REPAIRS IN TRELAWNY

 

CEO of the NWA, Mr. Ivan Anderson, Minister Pickersgill, Minister of State, Dr. Fenton Ferguson and Manager, Communications, NWA (standing) at the Press Signing.

Contracts worth some J$40M were signed at the Offices of the National Works Agency on Friday, December 3 for road repairs in Trelawny.

$21M will be spent on the completion of the 15.65 km of roadway from Albert Town to Troy and just over $19M on the Albert Town to Ulster Spring portion. Both portions will cost just over $40M.

The contracts were awarded to Asphalting Specialists Ltd. and will run for four months. The contractor has 14 days within which to mobilize and commence working.

Speaking at the Signing ceremony, Minister Robert Pickersgill said, "We know that people of Albert Town, Troy and surrounding communities were disappointed when the works were halted and the NWA was not in a position to give definitive date for the resumption of work…it is against the background of the cries of the people (especially the taxi and bus operators) to have our own experiences (of the road conditions)…I am happy we heeded the cries of the people."

CEO, NWA, Ivan Anderson, Minister Pickersgill and Minister of State, Dr. Fenton Ferguson with Mr. Vando Palmer of the NWA looking on.

The Minister recalled that under NARIP, 7 roads in Trelawny have been earmarked for work to be done on them. These he listed as:

These will be done at a cost of $J209M.

Minister Pickersgill was careful to point out that the work was not to be seen as ‘Christmas Work’. He said that the Ministry and The Agency would not pay for any shoddy work and that the Auditors and Supervisors would be watching the progress and quality of the work as the vigilance would be intensified.

Taking note of the overgrowth of the embankments and some blocked drains in areas such as Albert Town, the Minister advised that the packages for bushing and drain cleaning were tendered. He lamented the fact that not all roads would be repaired for the holidays but gave the undertaking that all was being done to address as much of the island as possible.