Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller (seated centre), prepares to sign documents approving the National Road Services Improvement Programme, yesterday at Jamaica House. Seated at left is Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, and at right is Junior Leslie, managing director of Alcar Construction and Haulage Company Limited, one of five companies contracted to reconstruct roads in five parishes. Standing (from left) are Audley Shaw, Member of Parliament for North East Manchester, Milton Hodelin, CEO of the National Works Agency (NWA), Fitz Jackson State Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Steven Shaw, communications officer at the NWA. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

GOVERNMENT and the National Works Agency (NWA) yesterday signed 40 contracts for the reconstruction of main roads in five rural parishes. The roads will be fixed under the National Road Services Improvement Programme.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said the programme is partly funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Government's Road Maintenance Fund. It will cost US$18.5 million (J$1.2 billion).

Mrs. Simpson Miller said extensive reconstruction will be done on road surfaces in St. Thomas, Portland, St. Catherine, Manchester and Westmoreland which account for one-third of Jamaica's main roads.

Five companies

Five companies have been issued contracts through the programme which is expected to employ approximately 3,000 people.

Mrs. Simpson Miller said the deteriorating conditions of roads had influenced Government's decision to start the three-year programme in the five parishes.

"What we have embarked upon is a major programme to fix our roads," the Prime Minister said. "It represents a significant effort to address a long-standing problem."

She said roads in the other nine parishes will also benefit from comprehensive reconstruction. Work in St. Ann and Hanover is scheduled to begin before year-end mainly through funding from the Northern Jamaica Development Project, with additional money from Government.

Renovations in St. Ann are estimated to cost US$2.1 million with work in Hanover costing US$500,000.

A grant of 10 million euros from the European Union will go towards fixing roads in St. Mary and rural St. Andrew. Money from the Road Maintenance Fund will repair roads in Kingston, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, Trelawny and St. James.

Mrs. Simpson Miller said a similar programme for bridges islandwide will be announced in early November.