Four new courts to be constructed under NaRRA - Chuck
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Four new courthouses will be built in St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St. Ann and Trelawny under the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), Justice Minister Delroy Chuck says.
He made the announcement during his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
He informed that the planning process for the courts started during the last fiscal year.
“It is the intention of the Government that these four new courts will be part of the priority projects to be facilitated by NaRRA,” he said, noting that the new courts “must be modern, iconic, state-of-the-art facilities, providing the full range of services expected from a contemporary court”.
NaRRA is a special-purpose body set up to speed up the implementation of major infrastructure projects.
Chuck said his ministry is also galvanising public-private sector partnerships (PPP) to build new court infrastructure in Manchester, St. Catherine and the Supreme Court in Kingston.
He told the House that the St Thomas Parish Court is expected to be operationalised early in the next fiscal year, which starts on April 1, 2027.
“Over the next two to three years, I expect the country will start to build at least eight new courts – four under NaRRA, one in St. Thomas and maybe the PPP for Manchester, the Supreme Court and St. Catherine,” Minister Chuck said.
He noted that the Clarendon and Linstead Courts have been successfully upgraded, and locations are being explored in parishes such as St. James, while the Hanover and Portland courts are to be upgraded to first-class standards.
Minister Chuck said that the rehabilitation of outstations is also being addressed, particularly those sharing space with the police stations.
-JIS News contributed to this article.
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