PM declares Annotto Bay Coastal Protection Project open
Published:Monday | May 26, 2025 | 12:06 AMGareth Davis Sr/Gleaner Writer
Annotto Bay, St Mary:
Following the completion of the $244-million Annotto Bay Coastal Protection Project in St Mary, there is now greater protection for that town against shoreline erosion and storm surge, which has been affecting the area since 1998.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness handed over the project, which seeks among other things to slow down wave action and trap sand to protect the shoreline, through the use of groynes that are placed in the sea as part of the initiative to combat climate change.
“I wish to thank our development partners, the World Bank, for their financing and support for the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project,” commented Holness.
“This project, the Annotto Bay coastal protection, is just one project of several. The project is being executed at a cost of approximately $244 million and it has reinforced and protected approximately 244 metres of a needed 900 metres of coastline. It means, therefore, that the Government will have to continue the development going the full way. So we will be back here again, maybe in another year’s time.
“But we are not just going to depend on the revetment and protection works to save the town. We are going to be smart in our physical development planning and we are going to create another road. Another main road that will take the traffic that is not intended for the town to their ultimate destination, so that this town can grow and develop,” he added.
FILLED WITH PRIDE
The Annotto Bay Coastal Protection Project is a subproject of the Jamaica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project, which was implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and funded by the Government of Jamaica through a loan arrangement with the World Bank.
Dr Norman Dunn, member of parliament for St Mary Southeast, who was one of those lobbying for the implementation of the project, so as to ensure protection of the coastline, expressed thanks to the JSIF, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and the World Bank for what he described as their invaluable input and timely response towards the project.
“I am filled with pride and gratitude, and, yes, deep emotions. What we are witnessing today is more than just stones and sand, it is rebirth,” said Dunn.
“It is a renewal of hope, a transformation that is taking place right before our eyes. This place holds memories of generations and it is being preserved for generations to come. Thanks to PIOJ, thanks to JSIF, thanks to all the government agencies, thanks to the physical space that this government has opened up in this country to allow for these important upgrades to take place,” he concluded.