SPARK road upgrades, Vineyard Town housing and peace index gains headline government update

The government on Friday, July 3, 2026, outlined a series of infrastructure, housing, security and agriculture measures, led by the $25-billion main roads arm of the SPARK programme. Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness and Works Minister Robert Morgan launched the initiative at Jamaica House on Thursday, saying 37 heavily used road corridors will be improved for more than 900,000 people in St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. James, St. Ann, St. Mary, Trelawny, Hanover and Westmoreland.

The road works are to cover drainage upgrades, slope stabilisation, retaining wall repairs, bridge and culvert improvements, new markings and signs, and added pedestrian safety features. The programme will also introduce tactile elements to better assist visually impaired road users. Work orders have already been issued for 31 projects, allowing contractor CHEC to begin pre-construction activity. Two marquee schemes are the Washington Boulevard upgrade, including a grade-separated crossing at Molynes Road, and the Dunrobin Avenue extension, which is intended to improve links between Constant Spring Road and East Kings House Road.

Holness also handed over 14 National Housing Trust apartments in Vineyard Town, Kingston, on Wednesday. The development includes eight units at 2A Central Avenue and six at a neighbouring Third Avenue site, with supporting infrastructure. Each apartment offers about 430 square feet of space, along with a fitted kitchen, bathroom, balcony and shared amenities. The prime minister said the project began in 2017 but was temporarily halted by extortion, worker safety concerns and other criminal influence, arguing that crime continues to block development in vulnerable communities. He also urged small developers with projects of five to 25 units, or up to 50 rooms, to tap the NHT small developers programme for financing and technical support, saying Jamaica must increase housing output sharply to reduce unit costs.

On security, Holness said Jamaica's ranking as the Caribbean's most peaceful country in the 2026 Global Peace Index reflected major investment in the security apparatus and a stronger focus on peace. The report placed Jamaica third in North and Central America and 70th out of 163 countries worldwide. The index measures 23 indicators across safety and security, conflict and militarisation. Jamaica scored well on internal and external conflict measures, though the report said challenges remain in public safety and localized crime. Major crimes fell 19.5 per cent between January and June, while murders were down 23 per cent. In Parliament on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace Dr. Horace Chang said Jamaica recorded 674 murders in 2025, the first annual total below 700 in more than 32 years, and that the homicide rate dropped from 40 to 24 per 100,000 residents.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Minister Floyd Green said India will donate 20 fishing boats and engines under a hurricane recovery programme for fisherfolk affected by recent weather events, including Hurricane Melissa. He made the announcement during International Fishermen's Day celebrations at Colonel's Cove in Morant Bay, St. Thomas. Green also said the National Fisheries Authority is moving ahead with the Traffic Information Management System so minor fisheries breaches can be dealt with through fines instead of court appearances, while licence renewal has been made easier for fishers. Separately, National Irrigation Commission engineering director Rowan Stewart said the agency has strengthened hurricane-season readiness after lessons from Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and Hurricane Melissa in 2025 exposed problems linked to power loss. He said the commission has invested about $108 million in generators and variable frequency drives, installed a 150-kilowatt solar system in the Duff House Irrigation District, and is rehabilitating 700 metres of canals and replacing 1,400 metres of pipelines.