Kingston Waterfront Improvement Project (KIWI)

Kingston Waterfront Improvement Project (KIWI)

 

Series of Projects 1 (SOP 1) between the Government of Jamaica and the World Bank

About The Project

The Kingston Waterfront Improvement Project (KIWI) is a two-part Series of Projects (SOPs) to be implemented through collaboration of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ), the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), through a loan from The World Bank Group. 

The KIWI is derived from the World Bank’s strategic well-positioned approach to support the Government of Jamaica in its effort to accelerate urban regeneration in Downtown Kingston.

The first project (SOP1)’s overall objective is to develop high-quality designs to improve the Kingston Waterfront, expand economic development opportunities, and enhance the institutional capacity to enable future private sector-led redevelopment.

Project implementation will occur through four (4) key components, a total investment of USD $12 million dollars.

  • Comp.1: Designs for a green, resilient, and inclusive waterfront
  • Comp 2: Urban infrastructure upgrading and fostering economic development in Downtown Kingston, through community inclusion, activation and
  • Comp 3: Enhance the institutional capacity to enable future private sector-led redevelopment
  • Comp 4: Project management and administration

Component 5 is a zero-dollar component for Contingent Emergency Response, to facilitate an immediate response to an Eligible Crisis or Emergency, as needed.

Through this multi-dimensional approach is expected to address the implications of climate change, revitalize economic activity and development in and around the capital city Kingston, repurpose underutilized land; and attract private sector development.

This will rest primarily in SOP 1, 2024-2029, under which Component 1 will be the design of the Kingston Waterfront as a linear park and functional green space, accessible to all, while opening access to streets which extend from the park, into the general Downtown Kingston area.

The development of the designs will usher in SOP 2, where it is anticipated that the designs will be construction of the linear park as an open and shared space to foster formal and informal economic and social activities, recreation, and livelihoods, advancing economic inclusion for all Jamaicans.

Overall, at least seven hundred thousand (700,000) residents of Kingston and St. Andrew and its wider metropolitan region who live in and/or access the city daily for work, services, and other opportunities will benefit from the project.

Under Component two, 200 residents and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) located in the project area will benefit from skills training and in-kind support, as well as basic infrastructure upgrades designed under phase 1 of KiWI, and financed under SOP 2.

Component 3 will benefit policy makers and the private sector with strategies for public-private redevelopment of the waterfront area, capacity and regulatory framework to plan and better manage urban regeneration and a mechanism for sustainable long-term operations of the park.   

JSIF as the lead implementing agency will have overall responsibility for KiWI Series of Projects 1 (SOP 1) implementation including fiduciary, procurement, Environmental and Social risk management, Monitoring & Evaluation, citizen engagement, and communication.

The UDC will serve as the lead technical agency for Components 1 and 3 of the projects.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding marks the start of long-term partnerships and collaboration between the lead entities, several key Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), numerous stakeholder groups, and most importantly, the residents of Downtown Kingston and its environs.

 

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