$399 m Justice Square contract signed

February 24, 2011 – The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne yesterday signed a contract valued at $JMD399 m that will initiate the construction of Phase One of Justice Square.

The contract was signed at the Ministry’s head office on Oxford Road in the presence of officials from the Ministry and the contractors who were awarded the contract, MLO Construction.

The project, in totality, will cost $399,962,371.54 and the construction period is expected to last approximately 13 months.

National Court Implementation Committee (NCIC)

In 2009, the Minister of Justice invited Ferris Ziadie, businessman, to chair the National Court Implementation Committee (NCIC), the objectives of which are to modernize and improve the court facilities island wide, starting with Justice Square. The Committee was directed to expand the physical facilities of the Supreme Court and as such negotiated the acquisition of the Old NCB Building which will facilitate the expansion of the Supreme Court.

Justice Square

In that same year, the Ministry of Justice announced the acquisition of the Old NCB Building on King Street to facilitate the creation of Justice Square. The acquisition, which cost the Ministry approximately JMD$128 m, included land, building, fixtures, a standby generator and a parking lot located on Church Street.

This ambitious and necessary construction project –Justice Square – will include extensive renovation of the Old NCB Building; and the refurbishing of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
At this point, the Ministry is one step closer to making Justice Square a reality following Cabinet approval of the project on 13th of December 2010.

Presently, there are 12 court rooms in the existing Supreme Court building and the construction and renovation of both the Old NCB Building and The Supreme Court will increase this number to 19.

The artist impression of Justice Square depicts a state of the art building with modern facilities, unlike any of the existing facilities in the justice system.

The creation of Justice Square, Minister Lightbourne said will significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Jamaican justice system, for the benefit of all our citizens. Further, the establishment of this facility will address a myriad of concerns voiced repeatedly by Jamaicans, two of which are the backlog of cases and inadequate court room space.

“One of the Ministry’s priority projects for this fiscal year is the start of the construction and renovation works at Justice Square, which includes interior construction works on the Old NCB Building at 52-54 King Street and the extension and refurbishing of the Supreme Court Building in order to increase the number of court rooms and Judges’ Chambers to meet the high demand for space”, the Minister added.

The total floor area of new renovation works to both buildings is more than 5,200 square metres. (The Old NCB Building 4,373.98 and the Supreme Court 904 square metres)

The works that will be done on the Old NCB Building include the demolition of internal components, the carting away of debris and new renovation works and alterations of the existing basement, the ground floor, first floor and sky bridge entry to the second level. Extensive alterations to, and the addition of new mechanical and electrical, engineering systems and external works will also be carried out.

This building (Old NCB), will house four courtrooms, four Judges’ Chambers and two Chambers for the Masters of the Supreme Court. The building will also house the High Court Civil registry, the registry for matrimonial matters, holding areas, two witnesses’ rooms, police posts, and support areas for the full staff compliment.

For the Supreme Court, the works will entail demolition of some internal components as well as new renovation works and alterations of the existing ground floor and third floors in addition to mechanical and electrical engineering services to the renovated areas.

The renovations will result in modification to five courtrooms, the addition of three criminal courtrooms, three Judges’ Chambers as well as a jury deliberation room to name a few of the critical improvements.