Jamaïca 2011 - Highway

Supporting the transport in Jamaïca

The four-lane motorway extension between Sandy Bay and Four Paths is expected to reduce travel times, road accidents and emissions and to stimulate economic growth on the island and construction will create significant direct and indirect employment. Essential long-term funding for the USD 285m project will be provided entirely by international financial institutions.  

Project start-up: 2011
Financing: $40.1m ($37.7m senior loan, $2.4m in equity)
Partner: TransJamaican Highway (TJH) 

 

Context
In 2001, the government launched the bid invitation under the “Highway 2000” project for the design, financing, construction and management of a 90 km-long toll highway between Kingston, to the southeast of Jamaica, and Mandeville in the center of the country. The French consortium made up of Bouygues and Autoroutes du Sud de la France was awarded the 35-year concession.
The first phase of the project, totaling $300m, for a 45 km-long section was built and commissioned between 2003 and 2006. PROPARCO was requested to participate in the second phase for a 10.5 km-long section.
 
Project objective
The poor quality of Jamaica’s road infrastructure is considered to be a brake to its economic development. The financing PROPARCO has allocated for the project to extend the highway between Sandy Bay and MayPen will have positive impacts for both the local community and the entire country. Improving and reinforcing communication routes between the country’s different cities will help develop national economic activity and promote the integration of markets.
 
 
Project description
PROPARCO has allocated its funding to the project to finance the extension of a 10.5 km-long section of the TransJamaican Highway, alongside IFC, EIB and IDB through debt ($37.7m) and alongside IFC through equity ($2.4m). This investment is earmarked to cover construction costs for the second phase ($165m) of the project and to refinance the bond issue that financed the first phase of the highway construction. The extension will considerably improve the road network given the fact that the section where works are planned has an alternative route which is in an extremely poor state of repair.