Portland is becoming easier to reach, and that is already changing what people want to buy, build, rent and lease. A new hospital is needed, but the land for it has not yet been chosen.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, 13 November 2026
What was said this week
At a recent handover of upgraded health facilities in Manchioneal, Portland, the Minister of Health and Wellness said lands are being identified for a new hospital in the parish. According to the Jamaica Information Service, he said Port Antonio Hospital has outlived its capacity, given the scale of development now taking place in the north east of the island.
He said the present site leaves no room for expansion, and that access is a challenge, especially in an emergency. Many Portlanders travel to St Mary for care, depending on where they live.
The search for land
The minister said discussions have started with the Port Authority of Jamaica, and that talks will extend to the National Land Agency and the Urban Development Corporation. A suggestion has also been made to consider land held by the College of Agriculture, Science and Education, which owns a large area in the parish. He said the options would be compared to see what is available and what is most suitable.
No site has been selected, no cost has been announced, and no construction timetable has been given. The Government said it is committed, during this term of office, to advance the work far enough to identify the site of the new hospital.
Why this is also a property story
The same address, as reported by the Jamaica Information Service, tied the need for a new hospital to better roads. The minister pointed to the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project through neighbouring St Thomas, which has made Portland easier to reach and placed greater demand on health and social services.
He said access is a big part of development, and that it is in access that people will look at real estate and want to buy, to build, to rent or to lease, and that hotels will be built. Our cartoon takes that point at face value: the signposts for hotels, houses and plots for sale are already up. The arrow for the hospital still ends in a question mark.
What to watch next
A new hospital would be a public building, but the choice of land will matter to nearby owners, to the college if that option is pursued, and to a parish whose property market is being pulled along by a new road. Until a plot is chosen, the existing hospital remains the one Portlanders must use.
The road has found its way into the parish. The hospital is still looking for land.
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