Original Christiana road estimate didn't factor final designs - NWA

The National Works Agency (NWA) has attributed inconsistencies in reported projections for the cost of the Christiana road development in Manchester to the original estimate being done before the completion of detailed designs.

Stephen Shaw, communications manager at the NWA, told JIS News yesterday that the development road would be constructed under the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) at a cost of US$8.9 million (nearly $800 million), and not the US$6 million, or J$500 million, first reported by the JIS in September last year.

"We had at that time a preliminary design. A final design was completed and the final design is what has informed the cost," Shaw said in seeking to clarify the matter. "The final design would have included the geo-technical work."

Added Shaw: "It would have taken into consideration the fact that we needed to build two structures to facilitate the local traffic, as there are two community roads that cut across the new road. From a safety standpoint, we had to take that into consideration. So, a final design was arrived at, and from this, we came up with the cost of the project."

On Monday, NWA Chief Executive Officer Patrick Wong dismissed the September JIS report as "inaccurate", less than a week after telling a committee of Parliament that the project would cost US$8.9 million.

"I don't know where the $500 million came from, because it was never $500 million," Wong told The Gleaner Monday in response to the JIS story, which had been posted on the government news agency's website for the past nine months.

road extension

Yesterday, Shaw, who said the original estimate was for US$7 million, told the JIS that the length of the road had also been extended. as the original length was 700 metres, but it was decided to extend it by another 300 metres to take the termination point outside the town.

"We want to increase the possibility for the town being expanded and to allow for that area to develop, so the decision was taken to add an extra 300 metres, which we believe is the correct thing to do," he said.

He stressed that residents of Christiana are set to benefit significantly from the project, and that commuters would experience fewer delays when the roadway is completed.

"The benefits will include the widening of possibilities that persons in Christiana will have by way of investment, and also to impact positively the lives of the persons in south Trelawny, the nearby parish of Clarendon, and in St Elizabeth," Shaw said.

A firestorm was ignited in a Public Administration and Appropriations Committee meeting last week, when committee members were told the cost of the Christiana road project.

Contractor General Greg Christie has since written to Wong, demanding details on the cost of the roadwork.