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Statement by the Minister of Housing, Transport and Water
and Works, the Hon Robert Pickersgill on the Toll for the
Portmore leg of Highway 2000
July 07, 2006
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining
us.
With us this morning are:
The concept of a trans-Jamaican highway was first
considered over 40 years ago and revived in 1994 when it was
determined that to make this work we needed to employ the
Build-Operate-Transfer model.
As a public-private sector initiative, Highway 2000 is
100% financed by the Developer. Included in the financing is
a loan from the National Road Operating and Constructing
Company (NROCC) representing 27.5% of the overall financing.
And herein lies our challenge ladies and gentlemen, as in
establishing the toll the government must find a perfect
union of value and viability—value for our citizens and
viability for the Highway’s shareholders (and in this regard
the shareholders are both the Developer and the people of
Jamaica, as we must also remember that in approximately 30
years, the ownership of the Highway reverts to the people of
Jamaica, in a good condition).
In fact, the Concession Agreement includes an Upside
Formula, wherein to the extent that annual traffic revenues
are over and above those forecast, 50, 70 and even 100% of
the excess profits will accrue to the people of Jamaica.
Before I announce the toll, there are four significant
points I must address:
- The cost of the Portmore section of the Highway
- The alternate route
- Remedial work on the access roads to the Highway
- Consulting stakeholders
The Cost of the Portmore Section of
Highway 2000
The Portmore section of Highway 2000 constitutes the
following:
- 7 kilometres of highway
- A six-lane bridge
- A 21-lane toll plaza
- Three grade-separated interchanges or fly-overs
- 6.5 km reconstruction of Dyke Road
A considerable amount of work had to be done towards soil
improvement designed to prevent the kind of settlement which
now occurs on the existing Causeway, including:
- 1.4 million metres of vertical drains
- 2.2 million tonnes of marl
- 500,000 sq metres of geo-textile fabric
- 110,000 tonnes of asphalt
- 800,000 cast in situ piles
- The bridge stands on 26 piles, 1½ metres in diameter
and 40 metres deep
In addition, the final level of the roadway has been set
at a minimum of 2.2 metres above mean sea level to reduce,
if not eliminate the possibility of flooding occurring in
the event of a sea surge during the passage of a hurricane.
The construction cost for this section of Highway 2000 is
US$100 million with an average interest cost of $US12
million per year or J$780 million. This means that in order
to repay interest alone we need $780 million or J$2.1
million per day—again, and that is just to pay interest.
The Alternate Route
There has been some talk about a boycott of Highway 2000
through the use of the alternate route. That we in fact have
an alternate route should not be discounted: the Government
decided by law that a free road must remain in place,
contrary to the laws of many other countries.
Remedial Work on Access Roads
On the issue of improvements to several roadways, it
gives me great pleasure to announce that remedial work has
commenced on both Passagefort Drive and Port Henderson Road
and major works are expected to commence over the next few
days. In the case of Passagefort Drive, this will be
expanded from the existing two-lanes to four-lanes. This
will allow for residents of Independence City, Cumberland,
Caymanas Gardens, Gregory Park and other areas of Portmore
to bypass the town centre and Dawkins Drive, which have been
a major bottleneck in the past.
Work will commence on the Mandela Highway at the Caymanas
intersection in the coming weeks and will be completed in
time for the reopening of school. The cost of these works is
approximately J$400 million.
Additionally, the response from the tender for Marcus
Garvey Drive is being evaluated. In the interim, work on the
installation of new traffic lights at the Ninth
Avenue/Marcus Garvey intersection has commenced.
Consulting with Stakeholders
Having reached to where we are today has taken several
years of negotiation and discussion with a host of
stakeholders. We have been forthright with all the details
related to the Highway; and there have been a raft of public
consultations and information sharing -- everything from
comprehensive newspaper supplements to small community
meetings.
Our discussions with the Portmore community have been no
less vibrant, with several meetings involving all members of
the Highway 2000 team including NROCC and TransJamaican
Highways, along with political representatives. In fact
ladies and gentlemen, up until 11 o’clock last night I was
meeting with representatives of the Joint Confederation of
Trade Unions, the Portmore Citizens Advisory Council and the
Developer.
Setting the Toll
As we all know, the toll is benchmarked against the US
dollar and the US Consumer Price Index. In April 2002 we
published the following: “For the Portmore Causeway the
initial toll is estimated at J$45.10.”
Separate and apart from the consultations I mentioned
earlier, in establishing the toll we also evaluated the
responses received as a result of the invitation published
in the two daily newspapers. It should be noted that we
received 119 responses. On the two previous occasions where
we invited the public to comment prior to setting the toll,
we received four or five comments.
Quite obviously, the Portmore toll has been an important
issue for many people, and we thank all those who responded.
Among the feedback were comments from several
organisations including, the National Association of Taxi
Operators, the Portmore Municipality, Joint Confederation of
Trade Unions and the Portmore Citizens Advisory Council. The
recommendations varied from $30 to $50.
We have also taken into account the cost of any subsidies
which would have to be paid for by the Government of Jamaica
and ultimately the taxpayer, which will have a negative
effect on other works programmes islandwide.
Now to the main reason why we are gathered:
I am pleased to announce that in keeping with several
recommendations, special arrangements have been made for the
residents of Portmore.
In formulating the mechanism to achieve this objective,
motorists must use the electronic tag or T-Tag.
Let me explain the usage:
- Class 1 motorists doing a minimum of 10 passages per
week will pay $500, or $50 per passage. However for
those who will be using the road more frequently, every
additional passage within the week will be at a further
20% decrease, or $40 per passage, moving from a cap of
$79.
- The week I am referring to runs from midnight Friday
night to midnight Friday night.
- For non-tag passages the toll for Class 1 vehicles
will be $60
- For Class 2 vehicles with the T-Tag, the toll is $90
for a minimum of 10 passages, and each passage after
that will be $80 moving from the cap of $157.
- For non-tag passages, the toll for Class 2 vehicles
is $100.
- For Class 3 vehicles with the T-Tag the toll is $180
for a minimum of 10 passages, and each passage after
that will be $160 moving from the cap of $236.
- For non-tag passages, the toll for Class 3 vehicles
is $200.
I am sure that residents of Portmore will see the
advantage of a T-Tag, which are:
- The T-Tag may be topped up, just as your do cell
phone call credit, except that it does not expire.
- You will not be handling money every time you arrive
at the toll plaza
- With the electronic toll collection process, you’ll
spend little or no time in the toll plaza, and remember
there are 21 lanes.
The T-Tag may be used for passage along other sections of
the Highway, but the Portmore discount only applies to
passages though the Portmore toll plaza. Motorists must also
remember that the Portmore discount is valid from Friday to
Friday.
Once again, let me state that to access discounts
motorists must have a T-Tag, which are available at the toll
plazas, at select Paymaster locations and from T-Tag sales
teams which have already been deployed in several retail
locations in Portmore, including supermarkets and at least
one service station.
Existing T-Tag users will need to register at one of the
outlets to enjoy the Portmore discount. There will be a
comprehensive public education campaign and details will be
available in the press.
We expect that this arrangement will find favour with
Portmore residents. I’d like to express my appreciation to
the many people who have participated in the discussion and
we look forward to opening day, Saturday July 15 when for
Portmore, Highway 2000 becomes the best way to go.
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