Logistics Hub

The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation has entered into a contractual agreement with the China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) for the entity to carry out the works under the Montego Bay Perimeter Road Project. The US$220-million design-build contract also involves Barnett Street/West Green Avenue upgrading and work on the Long Hill Bypass. Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Fayval Williams, who made the announcement during a virtual post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday (April 14), informed that Cabinet has given approval for CHEC to be the main contractor for the implementation of the project. The objective is to create a safe and reliable alternative route for motorists travelling across and within Montego Bay, which will result in less congestion within the city and open up new lands to facilitate structured developments. It is being financed through the Government of Jamaica’s Consolidated Fund and implemented by the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC). In the meantime, Minister Williams informed that Cabinet also gave approval for the reassignment of the operations for the certification of drivers and the oversight of the repair and maintenance of Government vehicles from the National Works Agency (NWA) to the Island Traffic Authority. “This better aligns with the capabilities of the Island Traffic Authority and allows the NWA to focus mainly on road works and other similar infrastructural activities,” she said.

Entrepreneurs who are now a part of the pilot phase of the E-Commerce National Delivery System (ENDS) programme, which kicked off in Portmore, St. Catherine over a week ago, are thanking the Government for rolling out the new initiative. ENDS is a partnership between the Government and the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ). The web-based ENDS system enables quick-service industry and delivery stakeholders registered on the platform, to operate during the coronavirus (COVID-19) curfew hours until midnight in Kingston, Portmore, St. Catherine, and Montego Bay, St. James, by facilitating online delivery orders only. Numerous entrepreneurs say ENDS is helping them to recover from losses they incurred since the curfew measures were implemented in 2020. Proprietor of Prendy’s on the Beach, Donette Prendergast, said the platform is serving to boost her business. “Before that [ENDS], I used to just lockdown with everybody else. Now I’m able to bring smiles on persons’ faces,” she said. Ms. Prendergast said the first weekend of the pilot was “great”, as she was still able to serve her customers during the curfew hours. “It’s the way to go because COVID-19 will be here with us for a little while. So let us use ENDS to fight COVID-19 in terms of getting persons to have their needs met as best as we can,” she told JIS News. Pan chicken vendor, Verol Scarlett, said it was easy for him to get on to the ENDS platform. “You have to have your ID, your driver’s licence, or your passport, and if not, you have to have a photo to give to them, and your food handler’s permit,” he explained. Mr. Scarlett also noted that ENDS has helped him to recover from losses incurred due to COVID-19. “My business… slowed down completely; it [was] impossible to even pay the bills. So doing this [participating with ENDS], I think, will help me to do better,” he said. The approved vendors for the first weekend of the ENDS pilot were: Restaurants of Jamaica, Pizza Hut International, Scoops Unlimited Limited, Dominoes, Wendy’s, Burger King, Popeye’s, Little Caesar’s Pizza, Juici Patties, Subway, Indulge YahCravings, Rotii Express Catering, Half Moon Bay, Turning Point, Cookies Restaurant, Endzone Sports Bar Lucky Crab, Relish Jerk & Seafood, Andre’s Seafood, Jolly’s Restaurant, Beach Spal, Texas Delicious, The Jungle Fiah, Voda Lounge, Richie’s Portobello Restaurant, Morgan Inn and Guess Hoos. The registered e-commerce couriers who provided services on the weekend were: Urban Taxi and Tours, Dream Courier, Hello Food, 7Krave, Wilson’s Courier Service, Dash Express, Quick n Fast, Door to Door, Hastle Free Courier, DoorStep Jamaica (CutDiLine) and Scoops Unlimited.

The Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) is working to increase traffic in and out of the Ian Fleming International Airport (IFIA), in Boscobel, St Mary. In an interview with JIS News, AAJ President and CEO, Audley Deidrick, explained that this will be achieved by significantly improving the existing facilities.   This, he said, is being done on the recommendation of international Transport Engineering and Consultancy firm, INECO.   Deidrick noted that the initial plans for the further expansion of the airport had been to do a 700-foot extension of the runway, which would take it across the road to the shoreline.   He pointed out that in doing the necessary investigations, it was discovered that there may be some challenges.   “That shoreline has a very steep fall, in addition to some bio-diversity, which we had to guard against destroying,” the CEO said.   “So, when you look at the cost to do that project, vis a vis, the impact or benefit it will create to generate more traffic at the airport, we put the matter through a master planning exercise through the consultants,” he added. Deidrick explained that when the consultants completed the master plan, they agreed that the AAJ may eventually want to consider those grand expansion ideas, but for  now, the existing facility has tremendous capability to generate significant traffic with minor alterations and build-outs.   It was against this background, the CEO said, that the AAJ halted its plans to undertake the major expansion work at this time, deciding to focus instead on a build-out of the existing facility.   He informed that IFIA has seen major upgrades since 2011, when it became an international airport “and subsequent to that, we had gone ahead and done further widening of the runway to accommodate the regulatory requirements for certain aircraft that we wanted to invite to operate there.”   Deidrick said that the terminal building has also been expanded to accommodate the requirements for international traffic and the separation of arriving and departing traffic, and domestic versus international traffic.   He also pointed out that with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, an area has been established for the health processing of passengers to meet the protocols for travel.   Deidrick informed that a police post, for which ground was broken in August 2020, is also being established at the airport.   The police post is being erected through an agreement with the Ministry of National Security and the Jamaica Constabulary Force.   The CEO advised that if traffic growth is significant enough to warrant a further expansion to accommodate larger planes, which he said, would be quite an engineering challenge, the proposal for expansion across the road would be revisited.   He argued that IFIA can be “a small shining star of Jamaica’s airport system.”

The Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) is currently implementing a project to rehabilitate one of the runways at Vernamfield in Clarendon, in a bid to develop a small operable domestic aerodrome at the facility. In an interview with JIS News, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AAJ, Audley Deidrick, explained that this directive of the Government would have been a first step in a longer-term development plan for the aerodrome. “The long-term planning, as has been announced in several places, is to develop a mega airport there to facilitate aviation activities, such as a maintenance and repair organisation (MRO), cargo, major cargo logistics, transshipment facility, aircraft maintenance and training,” he said. Mr. Deidrick added that a part of the facility is to be utilised for certain aspects of the Jamaica Defence Force Air Wing activities, among other things. The President and CEO further explained that in regard to the Vernamfield development, the AAJ will be employing the same approach to the development and buildout of the Norman Manley and Sangster Airports by the route of public-private partnership. “This is where the power of private capital and private know-how, skills, connection and reach is applied,” he said. “So, the shortcut of that is, it will not be a situation where the Government with its own limitations in terms of resources, is going to be spearheading the major investment to build out these facilities,” he added. The President and CEO pointed out that as the longer-term mega plans for Vernamfield have been brought to the table for consideration, the Government will assess the proposals and that more will be announced as the information becomes available.

Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Hon. Daryl Vaz, says the Government is advancing legislation and building out the infrastructure that will support and facilitate fulsome electric vehicle (EV) introduction in Jamaica. “As a Government, we are cognisant that electric vehicles are the future, and many global automakers have already begun ramping up their production. We must, therefore, move quickly, both in creating the [supporting] legislative framework and necessary physical infrastructure,” the Minister added. Speaking during a Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Foundation-IDB electric mobility (e-mobility) digital forum, on Thursday (March 18), Mr. Vaz cited energy industry forecasts indicating that by 2022, more than 500 various EV models will be available globally. Further, that by 2040, more than half of the passenger vehicles sold will be electrically powered. Against this background, Mr. Vaz advised that the JPS Foundation plans to deploy 12 EV charging stations under phase two of the ‘Building a Sustainable Electric Mobility Ecosystem for Inclusion and Access Project’, the first of which is slated to be commissioned in April. The three-year project, which was launched in 2020 and is being funded by the IDB Lab, aims to ensure greater involvement by small businesses and other key stakeholders in the expansion of electric mobility in Jamaica. It is also intended to create opportunities for the owners and operators of small and medium-sized enterprises and their employees in the EV value chain. Mr. Vaz highlighted the Government’s National Energy Policy, which he said speaks to the need for Jamaicans to use energy wisely. He noted that in light of road and rail transportation accounting for more than 30 per cent of Jamaica’s petroleum consumption, “greater effort must be made to diversify our vehicle offerings, while reducing our carbon footprint and dependence on imported fuels”. Mr. Vaz said the IDB has indicated that if Jamaica’s internal combustion engine vehicle fleet continues to grow at the current pace, it will undermine all the gains being made to reduce oil consumption via energy efficiency and fuel diversification, stressing that “we cannot allow this to happen”. Consequently, he expressed satisfaction that “through our partnerships, both locally and internationally, Jamaica will not be left behind in this regard”.

The Government has partnered with the private sector to develop the E-commerce National Delivery Solution (ENDS), which will enable business continuity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) curfew hours. ENDS will allow any business or vendor to connect to and leverage the islandwide network of delivery solutions to have their goods transported safely and securely to clients. Any compliant business, taxi or courier service provider, once approved to operate during curfew hours, will be able to utilise the ENDS platform. Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, who made the announcement during a COVID-19 digital briefing on Sunday (March 21), said the development of a model is far advanced, adding that limited testing of the service has commenced with the pilot is to be launched in Portmore by March 26. “The Cabinet Sub-Committee has been working with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica to develop a model through which the quick service industry can be allowed to continue for longer hours within the curfew. Businesses and delivery operators registered on the ENDS system will be able to operate after curfew until midnight,” he explained. Mr. Holness, who emphasised that the system is intended to be fully inclusive and equitable. noted, “[it] will enable the smallest business operator, the vendor, the jerk chicken man, your favourite fish vendor to participate”. “The Government is trying to be as creative and facilitating as possible to the continuation of our economy. This is one way, using and leveraging technology, [that] will enable businesses to continue, even during the pandemic,” the Prime Minister said. Vendors who do not have websites will be able to sign up for free through e-commerce platforms, including ‘WeShop’ and those provided by banks. ENDS is designed to ensure that the small vendors are included and not left out from making online sales during tightened curfew hours. Additionally, ENDS will also enable consumers to order essential goods, such as food and medicine, after curfew hours, and ensure that vendors and critical businesses can remain in service.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness says 12 new Special Economic Zones (SEZ) are now under construction. Mr. Holness who made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2021/22 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 18, said the SEZs which span a variety of industries, total 1.1 million sq. ft of new space. “Business confidence in the SEZ model, which was established as an economic stimulus strategy, continues to grow, with heightened local and foreign investor interest in a wide cross-section of traditional, as well as new and emerging industries,” he said. Mr. Holness noted that the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority is currently in discussions with a number of prospective investors at different stages of their projects. These include educational, medical/pharmaceutical, film, petrochemical and other commercial industries. At the end of March 2020, 98 percent, or 131 of a total of 134 approved Free Zone entities had transitioned to the new Special Economic Zone Regime. This number, together with the 52 new SEZ Developers who entered into licensing agreements with the Authority, brought the complement of SEZ entities to 183 – representing a growth trajectory of 30 percent under the new regime. Prime Minister Holness said the SEZs are spread across 11 parishes with the aim of stimulating development of commercial and logistical infrastructure to catalyze the economy. “Jamaica’s SEZs embrace a range of services including – training, incubation space, warehousing and distribution, logistics, manufacturing, assembly, and production facilities,” he stated. He further informed that the regime currently boasts 26.6 million square feet of designated SEZ area.