$2.9 Billion to Complete Montego Bay Convention Centre

An additional $2.9 billion has been earmarked in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives, to complete construction of the Montego Bay Convention Centre this year.
The project, being executed by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), aims to provide the resort city and its environs with adequate space to facilitate meetings, exhibitions and event-type activities. Additionally, the development is projected to, directly and indirectly, provide 2,300 jobs; generate foreign exchange earnings from direct spending by delegates, exhibitors and associates; and contribute to the Gross National Product.
Work on the project, which commenced in April 2007, has seen the completion of designs, and building approval being secured from the St. James Parish Council; soil investigations being conducted; and work on five blocks being advanced to various stages of completion, ranging between 20 and 65 per cent.
It is anticipated that the work will be completed by November this year. The project is being jointly funded by the Government and the People’s Republic of China, through the Chinese EXIM Bank.