Published: Wednesday July 9, 2008
Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited is to undertake a major residential development in St Ann to be called Llandovery seaside village.
But the project rides on whether the insurance company, which has diversified interests in property management, can convince environmental regulators that it will not upset the natural balance of the wetlands area in which it plans to build.
"The Llandovery project is one that we are very excited about, but we are not commenting at this time," said SLJ Karl Williams.
Environmental impact assessment
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) commissioned by SLJ already indicates that the project could cause some dislocations to flora and fauna.
The company proposes to build 300 units - including townhouses, apartments and studios, and complementary facilities such as a spa - on just over four hectares of coastal land in Llandovery.
Sagicor Jamaica did not respond to queries on Tuesday about the investment to be made in project, but given the value of property and cost to build in that area, the project could be valued at $5 billion or more.
Said Williams, when pressed whether the spend would be within that range: "We are not in a position to provide that detail as yet."
Llandovery is one of four residential developments the company has on the table to roll out within this year, pending environmental and planning approvals, and completed in 2009. One of those projects - the 55-unit Seymour residences - is valued at $1.6 billion.
Some of the funds to be invested in Llandovery would have to go into safeguarding the environment and mitigating impact.
Sagicor Life, for example, has committed itself to keeping watch on the nesting areas of turtles, for example, and to report sitings of the marine creature.
But notwithstanding any mitigation measures, the project will not avoid environmental damage.
"The removal of trees and shrubs would reduce the existing forest cover, resulting in irreversible loss of natural habitat for flora and associated fauna in the area," said environmental consultants Technological and Environmental Management Network Limited (TEMN) of Kingston, contracted by Sagicor Life to do the EIA.
"Construction activities and the presence of the development will impact negatively on the composition of the bird community and lead to loss of species from the area, especially of the forest-based endemic species," said TEMN.
TEMN pointed out in the same report completed in June that the impact on the turtle population, which nests in the area and lays eggs on the beach, could extend beyond construction.
"Increased use of the beach area by residents of the condominium could result in trampling of the turtle-grass beds in the shallow waters which not only serve as a nursery habitat to numerous juvenile fish species, but also to trap sediments in the lagoon," said the company's EIA report.
The environmental management consultants, however, recommended several mitigation measures to minimise the negative impact of the development on the natural habitat, including clearing the land in stages, restricting excavation during the rainy months, the installation and maintenance silt basins, fences or sandbags and restricted development near the beach.
The project must now face the test of public opinion, with the EIA to form the basis of consultations.
Source:
John Myers
Jamaica Gleaner
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080709/business/business4.html
john.myers@gleanerjm.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment