May 13, 2024
Ocho Rios, St. Ann. Jamaica
BREAKING NEWS COVER STORY LATEST NEWS

MASSIVE TURNOUT FOR MEETING OVER BIG CHEC OCHI PLAN

 

STRONG SENTIMENTS OVER EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

(An ESL staff member, right, trying to calm people in the passageway to the church hall)

 

Hundreds of people turned out Thursday evening, January 11, in St Ann’s Bay, St Ann for a consultation over the planned building by CHEC of luxury villas and apartments to house more than 4,000 people near Ocho Rios.

The Housing and Subdivision Development of Mammee Bay is to cover 160 acres (about 65 hectares) of the Roaring River/ Mammee Bay Estate and to be built by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC),

One of more than 20 people who took the microphone

The consultation at the St Ann’s Bay Baptist Church Hall was to provide feedback on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done on behalf of CHECH, by Environmental Solutions Ltd. Dozens of people were unable to access the relatively small first-storey church hall. Dozens more jammed in the passageways tried to hear or catch a glimpse, through louvered windows, of the action inside, and many more just milled around on the ground floor unable to see or hear anything.

Strong sentiments were raised against aspects of the disclosed plans for the project but there was no widespread rejection of it by the many who asked questions and made comments.

Look out for more reporting on this story, by the North Coast Times,  on its various platforms, including its YouTube Channel