Four contracts were signed this morning (December 5, 2024) for the much-anticipated Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) Programme.

The contracts which were signed between the Government of Jamaica and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the successful bidder on the project, paves the way for work to commence on the project.

Addressing the signing ceremony at Jamaica House, Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, noted that the contracts cover four packages and are valued at over $36.04 billion dollars for the road work, while an additional $2 billion will be spent on pipes and water mains.

“Package 1 – Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Thomas; Package 2 St. Catherine and Clarendon; Package 3 Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland and Hanover; Package 4 St James, Trelawny, St Ann, St. Mary and Portland and that would total approximately J$38 billion with J$36 billion applicable to road infrastructure” the Prime Minister explained.

He added that the project will be divided into two distinct phases with a local component focusing on community roads, and the other component focusing on main roads.

Construction for the project he said, is scheduled to be completed in two years, with an additional year for defects liability, during which the contractor would carry out any repairs due to defects.

The National Works Agency, the Prime Minister explained, will be responsible for the management and implementation of all works with the support of engineers, consultants and other technical professionals who will give sufficient oversight to the work of the contractors.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the SPARK Programme is not a mere routine road maintenance or patching programme.

“The Spark Programme is a capital investment and the difference between regular maintenance and capital investment is that the capital investment creates entirely new value that adds to your GDP.  Patching the roads is a temporary solution for convenience. It is necessary to do it, but it is not a long-term solution to Jamaica’s aged infrastructure. What we really need to do is to make a substantial improvement, creating new value in our road network”, he emphasised.

The signing ceremony also saw the launch of a new website, sparkjamaica.gov.jm, which will provide the public with information about the Programme.

In making the announcement, Minister with responsibility for Works Hon. Robert Morgan, noted that one important aspect of the new website is a document centre.

“It will give the public access to all publicly available documents related to the SPARK Programme.  The contract that we are signing is a public document, so it can go on the website. The roads that will be repaired can go on the website. We will also (eventually) put on the website, all the roads that we have assessed under SPARK, as well as the length of roads in the parishes and several other documents, so that the public will have a very easy access to the information”.

Minister Morgan further noted that the website would also contain the governance framework for the SPARK programme, which was approved by the Cabinet and will govern the execution of works and the accountability of stakeholders under the Programme.