Homeowners in limbo
As MoBay road project threatens properties, resident calls for gov’t housing solutions for displaced families
Published:Sunday | January 12, 2025 | 12:14 AMRochelle Clayton - Staff Reporter
Andre Montaque is devastated that his “dream house” is set to be demolished amid a realignment of the Montego Bay Perimeter Road. But while he understands the need for development and welcomes the benefits the project will bring, he is appealing for better relocation options for displaced households as he waits for news about his move.
Montaque, a taxi driver from Irwin in St James, told The Sunday Gleaner that he began constructing his home on a quarter-acre lot in 2021. Though the building is still unfinished, he currently resides there.
He said that in 2022, he received reassurance that his house would not be demolished for the road project being managed by the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) and contracted to China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
The 15-kilometre four-lane road, which will start from Ironshort in the east and run southeasterly towards Irwin and on to Westgate, aims to ease traffic congestion in the Second City.
Montaque’s initial relief turned to consternation a year later.
“I was passing by and saw an excavator on my property. I stopped the guys and a person from CHEC came and informed me that my house is on the list to be demolished to facilitate the development of the highway,” he recalled.
The taxi driver said that a meeting was held a few months later, where he and 25 other newly impacted property owners were given more details on the realignment.
“I was fully informed and a couple months later, I was served notice. All of this took place [in 2023] during the summer period and I am still waiting to get more information in terms of the report from the evaluation. At this time, I am not able to go any further. I am just at a standstill,” he said.
MORE HELP NEEDED
Montaque told The Sunday Gleaner that he has been left feeling despondent.
“I think more needs to be done to help as we transition into a new environment,” he said, lamenting that residents have been left feeling adrift in their search for new houses.
He is recommending that displaced persons be offered housing in Government-managed developments. He pointed to nearby Union Acres, where two-bedroom homes are being constructed.
“I fell into a minor depression knowing that I had invested time and a lot of resources only to be uprooted from my property. One of my other disappointments, too, is that some houses are being built at Union Acres and I don’t see the Government even trying ways to see how they can give us those as an option. Their option is just to pay you and then you find somewhere,” said Montaque.
He also expressed concern about the uncertainty of his compensation, saying he has received no clear information on when or how it will happen.
“It is not a guarantee that I will be getting the opportunity to get a property like this again, so I am really not pleased with how they go about providing options, and the fact that they are lacking in communication because up to this point, we don’t know when we are going to be compensated. We don’t know how to prepare,” he bemoaned.
Residents at the neighbouring Cashew Grove, a National Housing Trust (NHT) development, also shared Montaque’s views.
R. Bent expressed disappointment that he and his family will be uprooted from the community after building his three-bedroom property in 2021. He, too, claims that he was initially told that his property from safe from the roadwork.
“When mi acquire this piece of land and get the loan fi build, dem say everything good over this side. They said that about 20 people were going to be moved from the other side of the community, but they stopped at Lot #14. But [it has been] not even two months ago, dem give me notice. Mi come see the notice on my grille,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
According to Bent, investigations have shown that his land is being purchased in order to prevent any landslide in the Irwin region as a result of the realignment.
“Dem say that based on how dem cut the road, dem affi cut in some more, but dem nuh wah cut and it cause landslide. Dem nuh want my house fi go tear weh, so dem say it’s best dem acquire the land,” he explained.
“I am very disappointed, but because it’s government business, you can’t fight them. Your land title says that you are the holder of the property, not the owner. You can own a motor vehicle, but you cannot own land in Jamaica because if the Government wants it, you have to give it up,” Bent said, seemingly resigned to his fate.
FULL BENEFITS STILL AVAILABLE
NHT’s St James office manager, Donovan Evans, told The Sunday Gleaner that despite being displaced by the perimeter road project, impacted homeowners in Cashew Grove homeowners will receive their full benefits to repurchase properties through the Trust.
“We have decided that those persons who are being affected will get back their full NHT entitlement. [Some] of our mortgagors will be affected, but we will be able to address that,” said Evans.
The Montego Bay Perimeter Road Project is being undertaken under a design-build contract, which, according to Stephen Edwards, NROCC’s managing director, offers “significant advantages by integrating the design and construction phases, reducing potential conflicts often seen in other project delivery methods where separate contracts are used”.
By streamlining the process, Edwards said that the design-build approach enhances efficiency, ensuring the project is delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner.
He also noted that the project, now about 55 per cent complete, is expected to be finished by May 2026.
“While every effort is made to minimise disruptions, there are instances where additional properties may be impacted as the design evolves. A key objective for NROCC is to minimise the impact of highway alignments on existing communities,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
“For the properties in question, several alternatives were carefully evaluated, and the current alignment was determined to be the most feasible option, balancing engineering requirements with community considerations,” Edwards added.
“We recognise that land acquisition is a sensitive process, and we are committed to treating each case with the utmost care and respect. All acquisitions are managed in accordance with the procedures established under the Land Acquisition Act, ensuring fairness and equity.”