TRANSPORT MINISTER Mike Henry has dismissed the claim by his opposition counterpart, Robert Pickersgill, that he was responsible for initiating the concept behind the pending development of the old Vernamfied aerodrome, formerly Fort Simmonds, in southwest Clarendon, into a regional air-cargo hub.
Pickersgill, who formerly held the works portfolio in the previous People's National Party (PNP) government, made the claim during the Sectoral Debate in Parliament, recently.
broad, public knowledge
Henry said it was broad, public knowledge that he, as member of Parliament for Central Claren-don, had been mooting the development since the 1980s, during the Spring Plain winter-vegetable project in the area
He, therefore, dismissed Pickersgill's claim of paternity of the air-cargo hub project.
The works minister said while in opposition, he had "never failed to share withJamaica and the People's National Party as government, the concept for the Vernamfield development, which was taken up by former prime minister Portia Simpson Miller and given to Development Minister Donald Buchanan as a portfolio matter".
Henry said prior to that, it was Dr Paul Robertson, as development minister, who held portfolio responsibility for the Vernamfield project.
In respect of the revitalisation plans for the railway system, Henry said despite Pickersgill's acknowledgement that the PNP administration had signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese company owned by the Chinese government, from back in 2005, following which, the cost and design for the project was delivered by the Chinese in January 2006, no effort had been made to finalise the project up to the change of government in September 2007.
no formal request
"Why was nothing done if the then government was interested in carrying the project forward?" asked Henry. He said there was no formal request from the PNP government to the government of China to fund the project, which was a prerequisite for getting the initiative going.
Henry said the opposition spokesman had conveniently said he (Minister Henry) had "promised faithfully to roll back the toll rate on the Portmore causeway to $30", when it was well known that the promise was to seek to have the rate lowered.
He noted that Pickersgill, in his presentation, acknowledged that at the heart of the problem was the absence of the promised developments as collateral projects to the Highway 2000 project. Those, said Henry, were projected by the PNP government to have driven the economic base around the Highway 2000 corridor to support the use of the highway, but never materialised after years of the highway being in operation, and which now has to be refinanced and reassessed as to its alignment.
Henry asked the following questions of Pickersgill:
Where was the alignment to Vernamfield from Segment 1B of Highway 2000 and why was it never factored into the highway project under the PNP regime?
Why was there such a hurry to start the Mount Rosser section of the highway?
How much variation of work had to be carried out on Segments 2A and 3 of the North Coast Highway, which were not part of the initial programme of work?
What was the real cost of all the delays on Segment 3, which has since threatened the grant to the country for that project?
What happened to the New Town development and the proposed stadium in central Jamaica?
Whatever happened to the safety lanes for Dyke Road in St Catherine?
Why was the pedestrian bridge built in that location on Marcus Garvey Drive, where it has never been used?
