GOVERNMENT'S recent announcement of a relocation of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) headquarters from Up Park Camp in St Andrew to Caymanas in St Catherine is almost a done deal, according to minister with responsibility for information, Daryl Vaz.

"In principle, in terms of the decision and the direction of the UDC (Urban Development Corporation), led by the PM, it is something that is agreed on," Vaz confirmed at Wednesday's post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

The entrance to the Jamaica Defence Force headquarters at Up Park Camp in Kingston. (Observer file photo) #slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img { filter: none ! important; } 1/1

"You cant say definitively until you have done all the background studies and plans that something may not come up, but as of right now I can say it is something that is being pursued by the UDC," he added.

But, while suggesting that the decision to remove the JDF is finalised, Vaz was unable to say how much the relocation was projected to cost Government, or when the move would be activated.

"It is going to require moving from the stage where it is now, which is in the planning process into execution," he told journalists.

"All of that will require serious analysis [and] assessment and it has not reached that stage as yet," he said.

According to Vaz, proposals for a removal of the JDF to Caymanas have been "on the books" for a long time, but have now been activated by Government.

"Basically what it is, is a concept, a concept that it is signed off on principle as a position," he said, adding that execution would be done after consultation with stakeholders.

"Something like that is not an overnight implementation," Vaz remarked.

"Therefore, there is going to be quite a bit of preliminary work that has to be done in terms of being able to put, not only the execution of the plan, but also meet with the necessary stakeholders, Government and private sector, to bring everybody on the same page," he declared.

Prime Minister Golding announced in Parliament last week that more than 4,000 acres of land in Caymanas had already been transferred to the JDF.

Golding argued that the move would "free up 270 acres of land sitting in the middle of the city that in my view is going to provide an opportunity to retrofit the city of Kingston to provide it with the lungs it doesn't now have and to create the kind of facility that will completely rejuvenate the city of Kingston."

Golding's plans to remove the soldiers from the Up Park Camp facility to lands at Caymanas on the outskirts of the city has sparked heated debate about the wisdom of such a move.

"I don't think that there is any issue like this, including the stadium when it was built that has not had its fair share of debate," Vaz commented Wednesday.