Ministry of Transport & Works
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$15 Million to be Approved for Rehabilitation Work in Ocho Rios
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OCHO RIOS (JIS):
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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| Minister of Transport and Works, Michael Henry, during a tour of Ocho Rios, following flood rains which severely affected the St. Ann town, and its environs. |
Minister of Transport and Works, Michael Henry has said that some $15 million will be approved immediately to commence rehabilitation work in the resort town of Ocho Rios.
Recent heavy rains in the parish of St. Ann had left sections of the town in a mud puddle, a situation which has brought temporary closure to many businesses along the entire stretch on Main Street with those businesses on lower Main Street being worst affected.
"What I am now doing is short term. I'm immediately approving $15 million and I am correspondingly in consultation. The Prime Minister has approved my approach and he is here with me along every step of the way," Minister Henry said on a recent tour of Ocho Rios.
The tour which was led by the Prime Minister Bruce Golding, saw other Ministers and representatives from organizations such as the National Works Agency (NWA), the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), and Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, among others, viewing the affected areas and drafting solutions to tackle the situation.
"I'm going to look at the drawings then try to identify the drains then come back and have a deeper look at what needs to be done," Minister Henry said, informing that he would also be approving whatever sum was needed to carry out rehabilitation work in the surrounding communities that were badly affected by the heavy rains.
Meanwhile, he said that he would be working assiduously to ensure that the town was in a much better state to accommodate cruise ship passengers who were scheduled to arrive on Monday.
"We have a cruise ship coming in on Monday so I have to try and follow up and see how best we can because at least we would have gained from the fact that we could respond quickly," he said, assuring that work would be carried out with urgency to resolve the situation in Ocho Rios and the surrounding areas that were badly affected by the recent flood rains.
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