Jamaica Sets Aside $25 Billion for SPARK Roads in Weekend Roundup

Jamaica's government has allocated $25 billion to repair 37 priority roads under the main-road arm of the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement Programme, or SPARK. The projects, announced on Thursday at Jamaica House, cover roughly 170 kilometres in 11 parishes. Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said the programme is meant to upgrade key infrastructure, reduce bottlenecks and support business activity, adding that some schemes, including work tied to Sandy Gully, will require heavy engineering.

Works Minister Robert Morgan said the initiative goes beyond patching and is designed as full rehabilitation. He said the list was drawn from a data-based process looking at connectivity, accessibility, mobility, safety and resilience, after consultations involving local government channels, constituency representatives, business interests, civic groups, police and residents. Morgan said 630 roads were identified overall, but only part of that list will be handled in the first phase. The announced corridors are in Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, Trelawny, St Ann, St Mary, St James, Hanover and Westmoreland.

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company also said Sunday trips on route 512 between Mandeville and downtown Kingston will end on July 5 after a review showed weak demand, with some runs carrying as few as two passengers. The company said it is trying to use resources more efficiently while continuing regular route assessments. On the business side, the Bank of Jamaica reported that net remittance inflows for April slipped 0.8 per cent, or US$2.3 million, as gross inflows fell 0.5 per cent and outflows climbed 5.1 per cent; the United States remained the source of about 69 per cent of money sent home. In stock market trading on July 2, Supreme Ventures led activity with 11,258,610 units, followed by TransJamaican Highway and Kingston Wharves.

Elsewhere in the bulletin, Canadians and Jamaicans marked Canada's 159th year as a nation at a celebration in Jamaica, where officials highlighted more than 300,000 Canadians of Jamaican origin and long-running links in trade, education, tourism and culture since diplomatic relations began in August 1962. A street segment on stress heard people say they lean on nature, books, music, prayer, games and trusted friends, while Rural Incubator Seed project manager Andrea Livingston Price said farmers in cooperatives are treating hurricane readiness and business continuity planning as a yearly necessity.

Regional coverage noted the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's 50 years of keeping the EC dollar fixed at EC$2.70 to US$1, marked at a July 1 panel in St Kitts and Nevis, while St Lucia tightened Ebola preparedness through stronger port screening, expanded testing access, 21-day home quarantine for travellers from high-risk areas, a 15-room isolation ward and a 12-bed management ward. In sports, Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister Olivia Grange announced a National Sports Advisory Council and a National Sports Commission, while World Cup results saw Spain beat Austria 3-0, Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 and Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0, setting up a Spain-Portugal round-of-16 clash.