$20 Million Allocated to Build Central Facility for Scrap Metal

The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce has been allocated $20 million in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, to facilitate the establishment of a central facility at Lakes Pen, St. Catherine, for the storage and container loading of scrap metal.
While the export of scrap metal reportedly earned the country some US$13.3 million in 2005, and US$99.5 million in 2006, the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce was forced to suspend all exports in October 2007, in order to curb the theft of property, which was deemed to constitute a major economic loss to the country.
The Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda, had put a halt on the scrap metal trade again in 2009, following reports of rampant theft of equipment from the National Water Commission, the Jamaica Public Service, and other organisations. Items such as manhole covers, railway tracks and bridge rails were also being stolen to fill increased demand abroad.
The Ministry is attempting to put a halt to some of these activities with the introduction of a central facility. The central facility will operate as a clearing house for the scrap metals and will allow better monitoring by the Customs Department and law enforcement officers.
It will also provide rentable space to stakeholders at a competitive cost.