Sav mayor awaiting the spark in SPARK programme

WESTERN BUREAU:

Savanna-la-Mar Mayor Danree Delancy says he is concerned about the timeline of the planned rollout of the government’s Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to the Road Network (SPARK) Programme, given the current deplorable state of the nation’s road network.

Speaking at last week’s monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC), Delancy bemoaned the state of roads in the western parish, the worst he noted, in his 20 years as a local government official.

“We are still awaiting the much-touted SPARKS programme. Every single road right now is in a state of disrepair, especially our main roads,” said Delancy. “It is the first time that I have seen them in such conditions, and we must do something to address them.”

The Government recently announced a J$40-billion programme to rehabilitate critical roadways across the country, but according to Delancy, the country is yet to see any ‘spark’ from the programme, which was announced with much fanfare.

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Delancy’s concerns were raised after Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced in Parliament last Tuesday that his administration had embarked on an international competitive bidding (ICB) process earlier this year from which a contractor had been selected for SPARK.

“Following the evaluation of the bids, one contractor emerged as the preferred bidder for all four packages. Their technical scores were the highest, and their bid pricing was competitive,” Holness told parliamentarians.

However, Holness gave no specific timeline as to when the project, which was first introduced in the fiscal year 2023/24 as a $40-billion road improvement initiative, would start.

The prime minister noted that since the SPARK programme was announced, the projected cost of the programme has grown to $45 billion, to cover waterline improvements and the installation of fibre optic ducts to support future broadband connectivity, in alignment with the government’s digital transformation strategy.

Holness stated further that the SPARK programme is divided into two major components, each valued at J$20 billion. Part A will focus on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of local, parochial, and community roads, which covers roads with surface deterioration, poor drainage, and structural issues

Under Part B, the government will target more complex roadworks that will see a keen focus being placed on the rehabilitation of major roads that require structural upgrades, the installation of modern drainage systems, and the inclusion of water infrastructure and fibre optic ducts.