Protecting Palisadoes

According to Jamaica Observer (General News), SPURRED into action by the warning from Hurricane Melissa which lashed sections of the island last year, the Cabinet has approved a US$56-million ($8.9 billion) coastal protection system for Palisadoes main road in Kingston which leads to Norman Manley International Airport and Port Royal. The Category 5 storm, which hit Jamaica on October 28, 2025, reached wind speed of up to 190 miles per hour and devastated sections of the island’s southand north-western coasts, leaving several communities inaccessible. With the pain from Melissa still fresh in Jamaicans’ minds, Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz on Wednesday told a post-Cabinet media briefing that the Government is moving to provide even more protection for Palisadoes, the narrow approximately 14.2-kilometre strip of land that serves as a protective barrier for Kingston Harbour. “The Government is advancin