MoBay’s Harmony Beach Park all but fully ready

WESTERN BUREAU:

Donnel Barnett, M&M Jamaica Construction Company’s project manager at Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, says the new $1.3-billion state-of-the-art green space and recreational facility, which they have created, is now ready to facilitate access to the general public, albeit it is still only 80 per cent ready.

According to Barnett, the remaining 20 per cent of the work, which is now ongoing, will in no way impede the flow of people entering and enjoying the aesthetics of the park as the incomplete section, the southern end close to the South Gully drain, will be closed off until the work is completed.

“A part of the project is not going to be done now because a groyne construction is going to be taking place over on the southern side,” said Barnett. “The amount of work that is left to be done is about 20 per cent, so we are 80 per cent completed. The other 20 will not be completed until after that groyne exercise is done to protect the seashore.”

Speaking with The Gleaner on the status of the project recently, Barnett said the park, which commenced construction in May 2019, should be a colourful addition to the city’s landscape.

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC), which owns the property on which the park was developed, reported earlier this week that the park, which is located on a 16-acre beachfront property, will initially offer admission only to groups limited to 10 persons until the latest COVID-19 restrictions are lifted on March 23.

“We are actually at a point where we will be able to open and accept limited numbers, which I think is important,” said Barrett. “However, with the current constraints we have and with the COVID-19 spike that we have been seeing over the last week or two, we have to be diligent, we have to be responsible,” said Lisa Golding, the deputy general manager for subsidiary management and revenue generation at the UDC.

Barrett, who watch the transformation of the location from an open space, where locals would turn up daily to play football, train for track and field events or to enjoy a relaxing swim, to what is now a scenic location with modern amenities, said she was pleased to be associated with the project.

“We are more or less at the end of the road now, and I am glad to know that I was a part of this project,” said Barnett.