Local business groups are not sure how the day-to-day congestion and increasing traffic accidents are affecting productivity.

President of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA), Omar Azan, says while the impact they would have is clear, no analysis has been done on the situation so far.

"The more congestion you have is the more licks and dents in your cars," he says, acknowledging simultaneously that the JMA has never analysed the situation to know the extent to which it had an impact on the productive sector.

However, delays are particularly likely to be an issue for most companies, he says.

"There is a cost because being stuck in traffic - depending on the time - you are idling and your burning fuel and where you could also do two deliveries, you get one delivery rather than two," Azan says.

President of the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF), Wayne Chen, says while congestion and road traffic accidents have done little to impede production in his own company, an improvement of Jamaica's road network could lessen the impact.

Our downfall

"In other countries with a similar level of development - yes we have expanded with the North coast and similar highways - but where we have fallen down is the development of the road networks in the big urban centres," Chen says.

According to Chen, government must invest more in improving the road networks of both major urban centres - Montego Bay and Kingston - to allow quicker access to the cities.

"Right now you should have a flyover at Three Miles (St Andrew) to Half-Way Tree. You should have another that takes you straight from Half-Way Tree to Parade (downtown Kingston)," Chen says. He recommends similar road development for Montego Bay.

"In Montego Bay you have one road that passes through the city. That is ridiculous!" "This is where government after government has fallen down."