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MINISTER PICKERSGILL, PS HALES PARTICIPATE IN PANEL DISCUSSION AT OPM.

Permanent Secretary, Dr. Alwin Hales addressing the panel discussion. Also in the pictures are Mr. Dennis Morrison, second from left and Mr Aubyn Hill.

Minister Robert Pickersgill and Permanent Secretary, Dr. Alwin Hales were participants in the final of the OPM’s panel discussion series held at the Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday, March 9, 2006.

Under the theme, ‘Developments in the physical and social infrastructure’, Minister Pickersgill’s presentation dealt with “How our roads and ports support development and growth”. Against that background, he looked at activities concerning roads, seaports and airports.

In highlighting Jamaica’s role in the wider international arena, Minister Pickersgill said, “we are not building roads and other physical infrastructure simply for their own sake, but as part of the transformation process which is critical for development and for improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the productive sector to world class standards.”

He noted that the road network in Jamaica consists of 22,000km of which the National Works Agency (NWA) is responsible for approximately 5,000km and that both the Ministry and the NWA had embarked on a number of initiatives to improve road conditions. These he highlighted as :

• The post Hurricane Ivan Rehabilitation Programme, valued at half a billion dollars.
• The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Flood Damage Programme valued at over $2B
• The $600M IDB Flood Damage Programme
• The Kuwait funded $1.8B Road Rehabilitation Programme
• The $6B National Road Improvement Programme (NARIP)
• Segment Two of the North Coast Highway (Ocho Rios to Montego Bay) being constructed at a cost of over US$100M
• Segment Three (Ocho Rios to Port Antonio) which is being constructed at a cost of J$5.2B.

In commenting on the Ministry’s/NWA’s contribution to national development, the Minister cited statistics from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) which reported that the Construction and Installation Sector grew by 9% up to the 3rd quarter of 2005 and projections were for overall growth of 7.6% for the year, a 2.6% increase of over the 5% recorded in 2004.

Turning to operations in seaports, Minister Pickersgill asserted that more than 90% of world trade is carried by sea and that long term predictions are that container throughput volumes for 2008 are estimated to reach 400 million TEU’s and that by 2014, it will reach 550 million TEU’s.

In 2004, 3,432 ship calls were made to the island’s ports. The Kingston Container Terminal, Jamaica’s Hub Port has grown significantly over the past thirty years to the point where containerised shipping now dominates international trade. The present capacity of the Kingston Container Terminal is 1.5 million TEU’s. The volumes passing over the terminal have increased by approximately 72% over the last 5 years (2001-2005). Expectations are that this volume should increase by a further 36% this year over last year.

Owing to increased volumes being generated at the ports, an expansion programme has been embarked on, which will increase the port’s capacity to 3.2 million TEU’s. Those plans include the building of another terminal incorporating lands from Fort Augusta. Development of a Logistics Centre to be located on lands purchased from Cable and Wireless is yet another of the development plans. This Centre will provide opportunities for international manufacturers to redistribute cargo on a timely basis in this hemisphere.

In terms of the airports , the Minister gave his stamp of approval to the three phased expansion programme at the Sangster Airport. Work here includes the entire expansion and upgrading works being undertaken (by the concessionaire, MBJ Airports Ltd.) at a value of approximately US$200M. Phases 1A and 1B valued at US$61.6M were completed on time and within budget. A significant portion of Phase 1A works, which commenced during the 1999/2000 financial year, was undertaken by Airports Authority of Jamaica prior to the handover to the new operators in 2003. Concerning Phase 2 of the project, the work is projected to cost approximately US$65M and having commenced in January of this year, is scheduled for completion in July 2008.

With respect to the Norman Manley Airport, the major Capital Development Programme commenced in 2003 and will result in the investment of US$111.5M in infrastructural expansion and upgrade over the 20 year planning horizon. US$67.1M is allocated for the expansion and upgrade of the terminal building and associated facilities. The first phase of the programme is scheduled for completion in 2007, in preparation for Cricket World Cup. This includes the renovation of the arrivals area, the renovation and expansion of the terminal building, common waiting areas and a car park. Valued at approximately J$191M, this Phase 1 development of the NMIA Cargo & Logistics Centre will significantly improve operation and efficiencies in the Airports Cargo business.

Permanent Secretary, Dr. Alwin Hales was the moderator for the Panel Discussion.