Rehabilitation of the Salt Spring Primary and Infant School in St. James is set for completion next month, says Managing Director of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), Omar Sweeney.

The project, which commenced in September 2022, is being funded by JSIF at a cost of more than $34 million and is being undertaken in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Youth and the Salt Spring Community Development Committee (CDC).

It includes construction of a perimeter wall, a multipurpose court, a guardhouse with bathroom, a retrofitted double 40-foot container for a meeting room, and a concrete platform for a water storage tank.

The new Port Maria Fire Station in St Mary, built at a cost of $258 million, was officially opened and handed over on Friday, bringing improved fire and emergency services to more than 100,000 Jamaicans.

The brand-new facility, spread over a four-building compound, can accommodate up to 80 firefighters and boasts an administrative block, engine bays, male and female dormitories, a conference room, two fire trucks, and emergency management services. It will serve 48 communities in and around the St Mary capital.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in his address at the ceremony, said that “significant investment” has been made in the provision of a “well-built facility that will serve this community for years to come, adequately”.

The Cheswick community, located in St. Thomas, is to benefit from the Rural Development Programme, which is spearheaded by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the Rural Electrification Programme (REP) have identified 100 households within the community for retrofitting, which will commence shortly.

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) is fully committed to improving the living conditions of the people in Norwood, St. James, which has been earmarked for several major development projects in 2023.

Managing Director, JSIF, Omar Sweeney, indicated that education, water and community facilities will be among the areas of focus in Norwood, which is currently a Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO).