Press Release From The OPM - September 22, 2026
The Government of Jamaica and the World Bank have formalized a US$5 million grant from the European Union to strengthen Jamaica’s capacity to manage and deliver its national reconstruction programme following Hurricane Melissa.
The grant, provided under the EU Resilience Caribbean Programme through the World Bank, will support the Jamaica Hurricane Melissa Reconstruction Implementation Support Project, with a focus on strengthening planning, project management, and technical capacity for reconstruction.
Speaking today at the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness said the grant is not intended for direct distribution to individuals but will provide technical assistance to strengthen the Government’s capacity to manage the national reconstruction programme.
“This grant is an investment in the capacity of NaRRA to deliver our projects efficiently and effectively and to create the institutional knowledge that will stay here,” Dr. Holness said.
He highlighted that the support will strengthen systems for monitoring progress and ensuring quality, as well as risk-informed planning, engineering designs, costing, procurement, and contract management.
The Prime Minister said the success of Jamaica’s reconstruction programme will depend not only on the roads, bridges, schools, health centers, water systems, and other infrastructure eventually built, but also on the planning and technical work undertaken beforehand.
“The successful delivery of these projects depends on the quality of work that precedes construction. Before we get to these tangible manifestations, we must undertake the unseen and less understood work. That work includes sound planning, proper engineering, credible costing, transparent and efficient procurement, and careful project management,” he explained.
At the same time, Prime Minister Holness noted that the grant will also support the development of local technical expertise that can be retained within Jamaica and deployed across the public service.
“The idea behind NaRRA is to once again create the reservoir of project managers, engineers, urban planners, procurement specialists who can be deployed right across the Jamaican public service with a different mindset: the mindset of moving quickly, effectively, and with transparency. That is going to be the lasting legacy of NaRRA,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the reconstruction programme provides an opportunity to build stronger and more resilient infrastructure rather than simply replacing what was damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
The World Bank has identified the project as supporting disaster risk management, resilient infrastructure, public administration, and improved delivery of public services as Jamaica advances its reconstruction programme.
Prime Minister Holness said the scale of the reconstruction effort will require sustained coordination among Government ministries and agencies, local authorities, communities, contractors, the private sector, civil society, and international development partners.
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Meteorological Service Jamaica
Tuesday, September 22, 1600 EST
SIGNIFICANT FEATURE… A Trough across the western Caribbean.
Comment… The Trough is expected to persist across the region over the next few days.
24-HOUR FORECAST
Tonight… Partly cloudy. Isolated thunderstorms likely across western parishes.
Tomorrow Morning…Partly cloudy.
Tomorrow Afternoon & Evening… Isolated showers and thunderstorms across western & northcentral parishes and hilly areas elsewhere.
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