Feasibility study on seawall rehabilitation moving ahead

The rehabilitation and reconstruction of the seawall from Kingston to Ogle is progressing as the Government moves a step further with the feasibility study and design.

A public consultation was held at the bandstand located at the Kingston Seawall. The consensus of the consultation is that the public is pleased and supports the initiative.
Senior Engineer within the Sea and Rivers Department of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Maitland Stewart told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that Mott MacDonald UK, the company tasked with completing the feasibility study and designs, took a look at the aforementioned area that spans 7.5km.
Stuart explained that the study aims to “improve the whole flood protection infrastructure. Incorporated in this study are some ancillary designs in waterfront development to improve the space”.
Monies approved by the United Kingdom under the Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund through the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) have made the project possible.
According to a representative of Mott MacDonald UK, Peter Phips, “the main purpose of the project is to look to rehabilitate and make the sea defence more climate-resilient in the face of climate change and sea-level rise”.
In October, the UK-based company plans to conduct an environmental and social impact assessment. This will be done while the preliminary design is being finalised for its November deadline. Between December 2019 and March 2020, a detailed design of the project will be done.
Once accepted, the procurement process will begin for the project’s construction. The Ministry of Public Infrastructure has oversight for the seawall project.