MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Government is moving to purchase land on the periphery of the under-construction, 14.9-kilometre Montego Bay Perimeter Road, in an effort to keep squatters at bay. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang referenced the initiative on Friday.
“There are huge acreages of land on the border of the perimeter road which, unless planned now — and I am in fact in discussion with [National] Housing Trust about acquiring those properties, because unless there are plans from now for today and tomorrow — [I] guarantee that within the next five years another Member of Parliament will come here complaining about squatting and the challenge it poses in trying to find money to correct the problem,” he said.
He was delivering the keynote address at the World Town Planning Day 2024 conference at Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James. Dr Chang is also Member of Parliament for St James North Western, and sections of the bypass run through that constituency.
He blamed a lack of foresight in planning when the existing highway was conceived for traffic snarls that now plague Montego Bay.
“I started discussing this idea with my good friend Kingsley Thomas some 20 years back,” Dr Chang said.
“Had it been built then, we would not have the congestion we now experience in Montego Bay; the cost would have been half the price; and if it was done it would get Montego Bay traffic in some kind of order. So it comes back to the whole question of planning,” he added.
Dr Chang urged stakeholders engaged in various aspects of urban planning to develop a system that is tailored to the needs of Jamaica.
“One of the things I ask for is that our planners and those who are involved in planning — architects and civil engineers, et cetera — need to adopt a Jamaican philosophy,” he appealed.
“Collectivism is something I detest, and therefore I don’t like copy. This is one of the things that we need to do, and I urge the planners to look at our environment, our physical layout, our people’s culture, the opportunities for development,” the politician added.
He also stressed that there is a need to look at the legal framework as efforts are made to curb squatting, which has plagued the country for years.
“We have to look at what legislation fits Jamaica’s situation today. It needs some thinking through. It needs some discussion with the planners, with the security forces, with all the stakeholders in society, the commerce individuals, but involves a framework of planning, of legislation that controls planning effectively,” Dr Chang said.
“And if that philosophy is in place and you have the legal framework to operate, the day they [squatters] move there, they know they have to move,” he added.
World Town Planning Day 2024 was held under the theme ‘Unpacking the urban planning nexus with tourism and sustainable development’.
Work began on the Montego Bay Perimeter Road project in 2019, and despite initial delays caused by the relocation of people living on its route, the project is expected to be completed in 2026. The US$274.5-million project includes construction of the Montego Bay Bypass, accompanied by a comprehensive drainage study; the Barnett Street/West Green Avenue road rehabilitation; and the Long Hill Bypass. The project is being implemented by National Road Operating and Constructing Company.
The project is now about 50 per cent complete.
Earlier this year, $10.2 billion was allocated from the country’s budget for the project. As outlined in the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure, the funds went towards acquiring the remaining parcels of land needed for the Montego Bay and Long Hill bypass road construction, and completion of detailed designs for the Long Hill Bypass and Barnett Street/West Street intersection.
