Some $19.5 million has been set aside in the 2004/05 Estimates of Expenditure tabled in the House of Representatives today, to continue with the development of land information and cadastral mapping system under the Ministry of Land and Environment’s Land Titling Project.

The Land Information and Cadastral mapping system supports land registration and divestment, land valuation and general information access for informed decision-making. Major focus of the project for the period will be, continued preparation and maintenance of a digital cadastral index of the island and the digital storage of Certificates of Titles.

Meanwhile, some $1 million has been allocated to the Acquisition of Land project, which undertakes payment for Project Land Lease properties leased by the Commissioner for Lands from private landowners and drainage fees payable to the National Irrigation Commission. In addition, provision has been made to facilitate the National Estate Management project to allow more government-owned property to be brought into productive use.

The project also lends support to national, economic, social and other developmental policies through an established Property Management Information system. The amount set aside for this project is $3.5 million.

Provision has also been made to upgrade the facilities of the National Land Agency (NLA) offices to allow for the introduction of land titling and other services to be provided outside of Kingston, in Montego Bay and Mandeville. The amount allocated for this endeavour is $1 million. Since last year, the public has been receiving faster more efficient service when processing land titles, as the NLA continues to implement a fully computerised system at its Land Title Division.