Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, broke ground for the much anticipated Portmore Resilience Park on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

Speaking at the groundbreaking event, Prime Minister Holness says the multi-faceted recreational and wellness park, is part of the Government’s caring agenda and represents a massive investment totaling $4.4 billion, which will come from the Government’s budget.

“We are not borrowing to do this.  Of course, we all listen to what the people say and the people of Portmore have always been saying we need safe, well-built social spaces, and they have been saying this for a long time. This park is part of our caring agenda.  It’s part of saying to you, look we know you need a place that you can jog around in the mornings, that you can just stroll around, that you can spread a picnic blanket and just chill with your friends, or just gather in a safe and clean place, or have a concert. That is how you build the care”, he stated.

The Prime Minister outlined that of the 26 acres comprising the park, 4.5 acres will be reserved for a transportation hub.  Of the remaining 21.5 acres, 18.5 acres will be used for the park itself and 2.75 acres will be allotted for commercial spaces, which he noted would help to subsidize the management cost of the park.

He further explained that smart and green technology will be utilized at the park.

“Solar will be used right throughout, to ensure that we have electricity to operate our pumps and lights and to ensure that we can have proper irrigation so that the park can indeed be green and verdant in its appearance.  We will be making provision for conservation including rainwater harvesting and we expect that we will have about 75 thousand gallons of water that we will be able to harvest from the 26 acres”, he noted.

The park is expected to create about 400 jobs and 200 indirect jobs during its construction phase and will provide about 70 jobs and 30 indirect jobs during its operational phase.

Work is expected to commence on February 5, 2024, with completion expected by September 2025.

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