Chinese construction company, CHEC, wants to build a gated community on sacred indigenous lands in St Ann.

Now, if you’re living in Jamaica the name CHEC or China Harbour Engineering Company, is probably very familiar to you.

CHEC has been working in Jamaica since 2009 and is responsible for over 20 projects.  The North South Highway, Southern Coastal Highway, and Three Miles overhead bridge in Kingston are some of the more notable ones.

Now the company wants to get into real estate development and is interested in building a residential gated community in Mammee Bay, St Ann.

The land they’re interested in is a whopping 740-acre space in Mammee Bay.

CHEC’s ambitious plans include a hotel, apartments, townhouses and a special economic zone that would house roughly four thousand five hundred residents.

The only issue is the designated development area holds a lot of historical and ecological importance – rivers, Mammee Bay Great House, Roaring River Great House and property tied to Marcus Garvey’s family, and Taino settlements.

So of course this has caused some controversy, especially because the land was given to CHEC as part of the payment for building the North-South highway, so they have every right to use it… dun dun dun. 

Now CHEC did commission an environmental assessment, which is where a lot of these concerns were raised. The report noted that even with the suggested mitigation measures, there would be significant habitat loss.

Promises have been made that they will integrate natural elements into the design and relocate habitats.

But there’s still a lot of planning left to do on this project. It will require more industry and public consultations on the environmental report. Plus I’m sure NEPA will get involved at some point if they aren’t already. 

It’s a balancing act between progress versus heritage. 

And that’s the bottom line.