| KINGSTON, July 7 (JIS): |
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State Minister in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Dr. Fenton
Ferguson has said that discussions were continuing to find ways to
complete road works, especially roads that were more than 80 per cent
complete, and also to find a way to pay amounts owed to contractors.
Dr. Ferguson pointed out that the discussions were being conducted in the Ministry, as well as inter-Ministerially. Speaking in the 2004/05 Sectoral Debate in the House yesterday (July 6), the State Minister informed that the National Works Agency (NWA) had moved, over the last several years, to improve road conditions, as a study had revealed that driving on bad roads was costing the economy US$1.3 billion per year. Following improvement and maintenance works over the last five years, the State Minister said 36 per cent or 1,735 kilometres of roads were currently in good condition; 31 per cent or 1,514 kilometres were in fair condition; and 33 per cent or 1,565 kilometres were in unacceptable condition. Dr. Ferguson noted that just under 1,000 kilometres of main roads were rehabilitated under the NWA’s flagship programme, the National Road Improvement Programme (NARIP), and that the agency had developed a routine maintenance programme to complement its efforts, as well as a flood damage rehabilitation programme alongside projects such as the Northern Coastal Highway, the Kuwait, Saudi, and the Urban Rural Township rehabilitation and maintenance programmes, among others. |
