51茶馆

What does your job entail?聽We鈥檙e responsible for building, maintaining, and operating聽Jamaica鈥檚 highways. Part of the process is acquiring land for development of the highway, and we have to sometimes acquire private property, and that has a whole lot of issues around it. We鈥檙e also managing the financial aspect. These are very, very big projects, so a lot of them, by law, have to go out to international bidding. There are long-term plans to expand the highway network across Jamaica, which will require the continuous expansion of the country鈥檚 technical and institutional capacity.

What is most rewarding about your work? Seeing that the work you鈥檙e doing is really making an impact on people鈥檚 lives locally. Because Jamaica is a developing country, this type of capital expenditure on infrastructure really drives the economy. It opens up areas for development, it generates a lot of jobs, and it really affects the country鈥檚 gross domestic product.

What is your favorite road to drive on? The North-South Highway links the capital of Jamaica鈥擪ingston鈥攖o a major town called Ocho Rios. There鈥檚 all this land along the way that is ripe for development, but in addition, the scenery is just picturesque. It鈥檚 like a postcard, especially on a sunny day.聽