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Prime Minister Andrew Holness
The government is to revise its urban renewal incentive programme to get more developers to construct affordable houses in Kingston and St. Andrew.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says very few developers have applied for the Urban Renewal (Tax Relief), which was aimed at spurring development in and around downtown Kingston and lower St. Andrew.
He says areas like Central Kingston, East Kingston and South East St. Andrew are a developer's dream in theory, given their proximity to economic centres, public utilities and transportation.
But he says issues such as security have led to developers sticking to New Kingston and upper St. Andrew.
"There is clearly a need for a more coordinated and strategic approach to stimulating and attracting private capital in areas in need of urban development," Mr. Holness said.
He noted that it cannot be that "all the investment is going uptown and as it goes uptown, we end up in social conflict". So, the Prime Minister said "something proactive and instrumental" would have to be done to help guide what he called a "market failure".
Mr. Holness said the government will be revisiting the zoned areas under the Tax Incentive Programme for Urban Renewal with a view to extending it to certain selected areas which are aligned and in proximity to the government's capital expenditure programme to improve infrastructure.
"The requirements for the programme will be reviewed to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and the government will use its powers under the various legislations, where necessary, to acquire parcels of land for the purpose of renewing and developing communities of affordable housing in urban areas," he announced.
He was speaking on Thursday during the Budget Debate in the House of Representatives.
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