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A new computer laboratory was opened at the Christiana Moravian Primary School, in Manchester, on March 31. It has been named in honour of the late past student and Jamalco engineer, Mr. Kirk Rattray. The laboratory contains some 28 computers, and construction was made possible through the Ministry of Education, donations from the Rattray family, and other persons. At the...

A project aimed at developing a technologically driven and modern agricultural sector has been allocated $66.3 million for the 2010/11 financial year. This is outlined in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives. As stated under the Improving Jamaica's Agricultural Productivity Project, the objectives are to increase productivity and sustain production and marketing of...

The Government will be exploring 22 new wind energy sites, to add wind generated electricity to the existing Wigton Windfarm 1, and the soon to be completed US $49 million Wigton 2, in Southern Manchester. Through an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) grant of over US$700,000, sites will be researched for their commercial viability and, if viable, they will be developed...

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 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Project has been allocated $36.8 million in the 2010/2011 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives. Funded by the Government of Jamaica and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the project, which began in August 2009, aims to support the government in its effort to improve energy efficiency and provide technical assistance to prepare...

Minister of Energy and Mining, Hon. James Robertson, broke ground for the new US$50 million Wigton Windfarm project (project II), located in Rose Hill, Manchester on Wednesday (March 17). Wigton Windfarm Limited is a subsidiary of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ). It has successfully generated and delivered approximately 306 GWh of electricity to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo)...

The Women's Research and Outreach Centre's (WROC) homework programme has been boosted with the opening of a new computer lab, the Janette Purrier Institute of Empowerment, at their Beechwood Avenue premises in South St. Andrew. The facility will serve youngsters from communities in and around the Lyndhurst Road area, particularly those preparing for the Grade Four Literacy Test and the...

Minister of Energy and Mining, Hon. James Robertson, will on Wednesday (March 17) break ground for the US$49 million Wigton Wind Farm expansion project in Manchester. The project will include the installation of nine new two-megawatt wind turbines that will generate 18 megawatts of power, increasing the total amount of energy produced by Wigton to 38.7 megawatts. The power will...

A total of 580 teachers have received certification in basic computer skills under the e-Learning Jamaica Project, which will enable them to integrate information and communication technologies in their lesson plans. The teachers, who have gained competences in operating a personal computer, word processing, spreadsheet elements, database management, power-point presentations, among other areas, were presented with their certificates at a...

Over 30 professionals in the energy sector are participating in a two-week pre-training course in the use of an energy modeling software, which will assist in building the country's sustainable energy capacity. The software, called the Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental impacts (MESSAGE) is used to formulate and evaluate alternative energy supply strategies for a...

Jamaica formally offered 19 offshore and four onshore blocks for licensing for oil and gas exploration, at the launch of the Second Round bid, yesterday (March 1), in London. Jamaican officials are confident that with new seismic data showing very positive prospects, the country could, in the long term, become one of the region's top oil producers. Minister of State...

Jamaica opened the second formal licensing bid round for oil and gas exploration, with a seminar in London that publicised new seismic data which indicate very positive geological prospects for oil and gas found both on and offshore. The seminar was held at the Geological Society of London, under the theme, 'New Prospects, New Opportunities'. Minister of State in the...