Prime Minister Holness breaks ground on Wick Hall homes and opens Spring Village Bridge

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness spent the week advancing housing delivery, opening major infrastructure, addressing the private sector, and paying final respects to a former cabinet minister.

In Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Holness broke ground on 221 new two- and three-bedroom homes at Wick Hall Estate on Featherbed Lane, soon to be renamed Featherbed Drive. Alcho Homes, part of the Arc Group, is leading the private sector development across 36 acres.

"This is a serious investment," Holness said, noting it responds to families seeking well-built, reasonably priced homes in good locations. He welcomed designs that move beyond basic boxes toward greater aesthetic appeal. "We don't want to create a concrete jungle," he said. "The idea is not to replace a zinc and board jungle with a concrete and steel jungle. The idea is to make spaces where we feel good in living."

The Prime Minister linked the project to the government's aim to close Jamaica's estimated 150,000-unit housing deficit, including a target of 70,000 new homes—42,000 through the National Housing Trust and 15,000 through the Housing Agency of Jamaica. He urged more private developers to operate beyond Kingston, St. Andrew, Mandeville, St. Ann and St. James into areas such as Spanish Town, May Pen and St. Thomas.

In Old Harbour, Holness officially opened the $250 million Spring Village Bridge, replacing a structure closed since 2022. He said improved connectivity would support commuting, commerce and public safety, and warned that infrastructure not built for intensifying heat and rainfall would face severe strain, as the previous bridge had.

Holness said reforms to public investment appraisal, contractor capacity and labour shortages were underway, with a programme launching soon. Local workers would take priority, though skilled labour might be imported to support rapid reconstruction through the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority. He urged unemployed youth to contact HEART/NSTA for training.

In Kingston, Holness delivered the keynote at the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce annual awards banquet, praising businesses for driving growth. He later attended the official funeral for former cabinet minister and attorney Hugh Shearer Hart at the University Chapel. Hart died in April aged 96. Holness said the state funeral recognised Hart's service to public life, law and economic development, and read from Ecclesiastes 3: "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens."