P.J.Patterson
THE GOVERNMENT is going ahead with its Highway 2000 project, but at reduced speed.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson disclosed this yesterday at a verandah news briefing at Vale Royal, his official residence on Montrose Road, St. Andrew. He said that Highway 2000 (which is expected to provide a 90-minute link between Kingston and Montego Bay) was on target.
A submission on the project is to go before Cabinet soon, and if it is approved, he would then report fully to the country, he said.
But he said it was likely that the project would have to be implemented in "defined segments" instead of all segments being implemented simultaneously.
He would be going to Europe in mid-August, Mr. Patterson said to undertake discussions with principals who would be involved in the project. Funding for it would be from both external sources and local private sector investors who have expressed interest.
"There is a lot of money that is around and people will recognise that Treasury Bills are not the only game in town", Mr. Patterson said in explaining the high level of interest in Highway 2000.
Support for the 230-kilometre expressway had come "from some surprising quarters" and from both sides of the political divide and there were more people for it that were opposed to or had reservations about it, he said.
