Plan for trans-shipment port at Fort Augusta abandoned, larger site being sought

Plans to transform Fort Augusta, site of  Jamaica's lone female prison, into a modern trans-shipment port have been abandoned. Instead, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the prospective developer, is seeking an alternative location for a much larger investment, costing $1.2-$1.5 billion.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller announced the change of plans during her contribution to the 2013/2014 Budget Debate in Parliament. Explaining the rationale for the switch, she said the company had "radically expanded the scope of their projected investment interest in Jamaica, based on their own plans, as well as the increased interest from other potential users of the port and logistics facilities..." Fort Augusta, she said, "was simply not big enough to provide the space they need."

She project, for which a final location has not yet been determined,  will be a direct investment of CHEC and its parent company, China Construction and Communications Company (CCCC).

The Prime Minister announced that the new mega project will consist of transhipment facilities, a logistic centre, industrial plants, a cement plant "and perhaps a power plant."

She said the extension to the MOU, signed by CHEC and the Port Authority will run for another year "to allow for all the relevant studies to be conducted, including environmental assessments" and sought to assure the country that no special concessions will be given to facilitate the project. 

The project is to be implemented over a five year period. According to Mrs. Simpson Miller, during construction, 2000 workers will be employed. She said when completed, the industrial park will employ approximately 10,000 workers. It was a "non-negotiable requirement" she said, that the majority of these workers will be Jamaican nationals.

The Fort Augusta trans-shipment port was one of three mega projects announced a year ago by the Jamaican government to spur significant economic growth. The other two are the North-South Link of Highway 2000 and the dredging of Kingston Harbour to accommodate larger cargo ships and meet Jamaica's need to establish a new global logistics hub by 2015.