Build better, faster

BREAKING ground Friday for the construction of 700 new homes at Greater Bernard Lodge in St Catherine, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness challenged local contractors to embrace technology and invest in equipment that can accelerate the pace of delivery. “The building technologies that we are using today are outdated and expensive. We need more of our private contractors and our private developers to start using modern technology. It’s not just to build the houses more cost-effectively, but we have to move away from building the matches boxes, the heat boxes, to building things that look modern, aesthetically pleasing and sustainable. That is my challenge today to our developers,” Holness said, adding that he expects that within the next 18 months he will be back at the location to present keys to the owners of the new units.

“The role of Government is to use legislation, and fiscal incentives, and moral suasion to guide and sometimes direct the private developers into the underserved areas of the market. But we are seeing an influx of overseas private contractors who have solved the problem of being able to build quickly and deliver quickly at a reasonable price because they have integrated significant technology and equipment into their operations,” Holness said. “Almost every day we are getting proposals. The only thing they want from us would be land. But I am thinking that I want my local contractors to do this. I want my local contractors to develop the capability to deliver these houses quickly. I can’t just give away everything to overseas and foreign investors. I want my local contractors to benefit, but at the same time I want the people to get houses,” the prime minister said. The units — 280 one-bedroom and 420 two-bedroom houses — will be built under a…