Jamaica to get new S-band doppler weather radar

Source(s): Jamaica Information Service

By Ainsworth Morris

The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and the World Bank have signed a contract for the design, supply and installation of a new S-Band Doppler Weather Radar in Jamaica.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, Director General, PIOJ, Dr. Wayne Henry, and Country Manager, World Bank, Ms. Galina Sotirova, signed the contract at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St. Andrew, on Tuesday (June 25).

The radar is used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate rain, hail, and others, and will significantly improve Jamaica’s ability to accurately forecast extreme weather events.

It will be designed and installed by the Enterprise Electronics Corporation from the United States of America, which Cabinet recently granted approval with the award of a contract in the amount of US$2,449,203.

The project is being funded with the help of the World Bank, through accessing funds from the Climate Investment Fund.

Mr. Vaz noted that the signing of the contract is a significant activity for the Government at this time, as it is critically important to replace the almost obsolete and aged system which is currently being used by the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.

“Not only is it critically important that we replace the 20-year-old almost obsolete system that once stood tall as the first Doppler Radar to be installed in the English-speaking Caribbean, but it signals a resolve to meet the global challenges of weather and climate that face this and future generations head-on,” the Minister said.

“Unfortunately, the monitoring capabilities of the Meteorological Service are hampered by the increasing failures of our aged radar system, hence its replacement is now a priority,” he added.

The Minister also noted that the installation of this weather radar will greatly enhance Jamaica’s ability to achieve its 2030 milestones with its capacity to pinpoint the location and movement of rainfall cells anywhere over the country and as far away as the Cayman Islands, south-eastern Cuba and Western Haiti.

Implementation of the radar falls under the Improving Climate Data and Information Management Project (ICDIMP), which has a development objective of improving the quality and use of climate related data for effective planning and action at all levels in Jamaica.

The ICDIMP is funded by the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR), through the World Bank.

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