By Chris Patterson
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – The government is taking deliberate and strategic steps to attract more businesses to manufacture and invest in Jamaica, thereby growing the economy and providing opportunities for Jamaicans.
Addressing the opening ceremony for the MJS Industrial and Technology Park in Spanish Town, St Catherine, on June 24, prime minister, Andrew Holness, said that “in a few days” details will be provided as it relates to the cost of energy in the country.
“We have to reduce the cost of electricity to business, if our economy is to grow and if we are to realise our dreams of becoming an industrial and manufacturing hub in the region,” the prime minister added: “It is clear to us, renewables are an option; solar prices, particularly for panels and batteries are coming down. So there has to be greater investment but, it has to be carefully managed because what you don’t want to happen is for there to be a rapid migration from the national grid into individually supplied energy solutions using renewables, otherwise, that will just drive up the unit cost for everyone else who remains on the grid.”
Prime minister Holness emphasised that there has to be a national strategy as to how “we reduce energy costs for everyone. That is the next step to be able to get to a larger flow of investments in Jamaica and in a few days, you will see our policy and strategy unfold as to how we intend to make a really profound change in the cost of energy for the average Jamaicans.”
Jamaica continues to be one of the highest energy cost countries in the region, adding that some measures have been implemented to reduce the cost of electricity to households, the prime minster explained:
“On the demand side, there are some things that we can do; for example, we have reduced the GCT on electricity… no longer 15 percent GCT, it’s now seven per cent, a major reduction and we are spending over a billion dollars in trying to encourage prepaid metering… and we are also supporting the wiring of houses.”
Meanwhile, Holness said significant efforts have been made to improve national security and reduce crime; the management of the economy; the regulatory environment; development of special economic zones; public-private partnerships; and upskilling more Jamaicans through training from HEART/NSTA Trust.
“This (industrial and technology park) is a purely private-sector development. The government has nothing to do with it in terms of any debt or partnership, except making it possible by providing the land, making it possible by providing the right economic environment, making it possible by providing the training in the society, making it possible by ensuring that there is security, and we are going to now make sure that energy and efficiency are well rooted as a part of the Jamaican landscape,” he said.
Chairman, MJS Industrial and Technology Park, Michael Subratie, described the facility as the largest business process outsourcing operation under one roof in the entire Caribbean, noting that the journey began three years ago. He informed, too, that 2,800 jobs have been created: and informed that ground will be broken for phase two, which entails an additional 30,000 square feet for manufacturing.
MJS Industrial and Technology Park is located at the old Ariguanabo textile factory site in St. Catherine. MJS is a member of the Musson Group of Companies and is strategically located 18 miles from both the Port of Kingston and Port Esquivel.
