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Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, has announced that the bauxite and alumina company, Alpart, in Nain, St. Elizabeth, should resume operations in the first quarter of 2016, following completion of the refinery’s new energy infrastructure. The re-opening will come some seven years after production ceased at the plant, due to a decline in the global...

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), Hon. Phillip Paulwell, says the computer tablets to be issued to students will have security features to prevent criminals from stealing them. Under the Schools Tablet Computer Programme, some 30,000 devices will be distributed to students and teachers from 30 institutions across the island, through phase II of the E-Learning Programme. Speaking...

The Government is encouraging companies, including small contractors, to bid on projects under the $2 billion public sector energy efficiency programme. The programme, being jointly undertaken with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), seeks to improve energy efficiency in the public sector by replacing aged and inefficient equipment; retrofitting infrastructural deficiencies; and instilling behavioural change that promotes efficiency and conservation. Making...

Thousands of tablet computers are to be distributed to students and teachers from 30 institutions across the island, under a pilot programme starting in September. This was disclosed by Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, during his contribution to the 2013/14 Budget Debate on Thursday, April 24m in Gordon House. “We will begin E-Learning II, with...

The Government, during this fiscal year, will be increasing the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the education sector, as part of efforts to bridge the digital divide and enhance knowledge. This was disclosed by Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, during the opening of an ‘ICT in Education’ capacity building workshop on Monday, April 22,...

The Government, through the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), will be making some US $20 million available this financial year, to facilitate the construction of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) centres. Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, who made the announcement as he opened the 2013/14 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on April 18,...

State Minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Julian Robinson, is stressing the importance of all Jamaicans embracing technology. “If you refuse to embrace technology, you will be left behind,” Mr. Robinson told a group of librarians and information specialists attending a seminar to introduce the implementation of a new international cataloguing system, Resource Description and...

More than 70 local and overseas companies are showing off the latest and best in emerging energy efficiency products and technologies, at the Jamaica Alternative Energy Expo in Kingston. Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, officially declared the two-day event open on Monday, April 15, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. Minister Paulwell offered the Government’s full...

Jamaica’s library network will soon boast a new international digital cataloguing system, which will help persons doing research or requesting information from library archives. The system, called the Resource Description and Access(RDA), is the new international cataloguing standard, designed for the digital environment. It is intended to replace the current Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2), and is being developed primarily for...

Government has set aside just over $3 million to conduct a feasibility study on the use of wind generated electricity for pumping irrigation water in the Pedro Plains area of St. Elizabeth. The sum, for the Wind Powered Irrigation Feasibility Assessment project, is set out in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. During the fiscal...

Government is to spend approximately $4.4 million on a project designed to enhance energy efficiency and conservation. The sum for the Capacity Development for Energy Efficiency and Security in Jamaica, is outlined in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, which is before the House of Representatives. The project aims to increase energy and efficiency and conservation, especially within the public sector,...

The Government will be expending $25.4 million this fiscal year, to strengthen the capacity of testing laboratories involved in the export of agricultural and agro-processed products to the European Union (EU) markets. The allocation, provided under the European Development Fund Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Capacity Building Project, is contained in the 2013/2014 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the...