By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

TRANSPORT and Energy Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis said her ministry is considering a proposal to relocate the General Post Office to the former Independence Drive Shopping Plaza site.

She revealed last year that the government was considering a public-private partnership arrangement with Bahamian investor Scott Godet for the former Independence Drive Shopping Plaza site.

Mr Godet had partnered with the Christie administration to relocate the General Post Office to his plaza on Independence Highway. About $3m was reportedly pumped into the project. However, it was stalled in the final months of the Christie administration after Garden Hills residents complained that the traffic flow the facility generates would disrupt their quality of life.

The Minnis administration later rented space at the Town Centre Mall for the post office instead. That mall is owned by former St Anne’s MP and Cabinet minister Brent Symonette.

Yesterday, Mrs Coleby-Davis said the post office headquarters needs a building that can encompass the additional services the administration wants to introduce.

“I think right now we have to clarify the land and the transaction and get a conclusion and then to advance into having some idea of what the timeline when that would possibly happen,” she said. “It’s still a priority and something that we would like to see.”

She said new General Post Office services would modernise and digitise the institution. Earlier this year, she said the plans would include courier services to allow international packages to be delivered to mailboxes.

“A major plan for the department in this budget year is the development and creation of an automated counter and parcel delivery operation to facilitate electronic payment transactions and online purchasing, along with track and tracing capabilities,” she said while contributing to the budget debate. “I am advised that revenue intake from this operation in the first three years can exceed $3m.”