Milestone Jamaica highway nears completion

Officials at China Harbor Engineering Co, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co, said they will complete work on Jamaica's most-expensive ever construction project, the south-north expressway, by March next year.

The four-lane, 68-kilometer and $730-million highway is CHEC's first so-called engineering, procurement and construction deal, and among the first overseas infrastructure contracts by a Chinese firm using the "build, operate and transfer" model.

Many economies in the Caribbean rely on trade in commodities, agricultural and mining products. Tang Zhongdong, CHEC vice-president, said that a shortage of good infrastructure such as roads, airports, bridges and container ports, however, has affected government revenues and standards of living.