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Combination of Public and Private Investments to Improve Infrastructure

By: , June 12, 2019

The Key Point:

The Government remains committed to private sector-led growth and will continue to use a combination of public and private investments to improve the country’s infrastructure.
Combination of Public and Private Investments to Improve Infrastructure
Photo: Mark Bell
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (left), is greeted by Director General, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry (right), while Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Her Excellency Laurie Peters, looks on. Occasion was the official opening of the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) 2019 Private Equity and Infrastructure Development Conference, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Monday (June 10).
Combination of Public and Private Investments to Improve Infrastructure
Photo: Mark Bell
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (left), is welcomed by Managing Director, Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), Milverton Reynolds (right), when he arrived at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Monday (June 10), to open the DBJ’s 2019 Private Equity and Infrastructure Development Conference. Also pictured is Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry.

The Facts

  • This is according to Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., who said partnerships with the private sector will continue to be explored and implemented, once such arrangements provide value for money and for the people of Jamaica.
  • “I am proud of the partnerships that we have developed with the private sector. I am encouraged by the members of the private sector – the leaders who facilitate, support, encourage and who definitely have shown me that Jamaica can achieve if we continue to have substantive partnerships,” he said.

The Full Story

The Government remains committed to private sector-led growth and will continue to use a combination of public and private investments to improve the country’s infrastructure.

This is according to Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., who said partnerships with the private sector will continue to be explored and implemented, once such arrangements provide value for money and for the people of Jamaica.

“I am proud of the partnerships that we have developed with the private sector. I am encouraged by the members of the private sector – the leaders who facilitate, support, encourage and who definitely have shown me that Jamaica can achieve if we continue to have substantive partnerships,” he said.

The Minister was speaking at the official opening of the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) 2019 Private Equity and Infrastructure Development Conference, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Monday (June 10).

Senator Charles Jr. noted that while the private-public partnerships (PPPs) “don’t solve all of our infrastructure problems,” they can deliver several economic benefits.

“If well structured, they create jobs, facilitate private investment capital, offer better management of assets and facilitate the injection of new technology to deliver high-quality public infrastructure and services,” he pointed out.

The Minister said the Government has taken a holistic approach to creating a policy and institutional framework for the consistent and prudent identification, development and implementation of PPP projects. This, he said, is done to engender the confidence of the public and the private sector.

“Through the work of the Public-Private Partnerships and Privatisation (P4) Division and Venture Capital Unit, administered by the DBJ, the Government is facilitating private sector-led growth,” he noted.

The Minister further stressed that there is no better time to participate in the Jamaican economy and to forge partnerships with the Government.

This, he noted, as the Government is ready to facilitate investments and innovation in all areas of the economy – to implement critical infrastructure and to expand small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and boost entrepreneurship.

He said the macroeconomic indicators are all moving in the right direction; there is liquidity in the local capital markets; and there is “a primed, attentive and engaged private sector”.

“The Government is also focused on divesting assets and creating viable investment opportunities in infrastructure through the P4 Programme, which has been recognised as one of the leading programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the Minister added.

He pointed out that strategic steps have also been taken to create a dynamic venture capital ecosystem by building local capacity to pursue venture capital and private equity investments.

“We are now focusing on catalysing the growth of the micro sector through increased financing options and predictability of the environment for planning,” the Minister said.

In the meantime, Senator Charles Jr. commended the DBJ for conceptualising and executing the conference, which is geared at highlighting the readiness and attractiveness of local investment opportunities.

The four-day conference is being held under the theme ‘Delivering Economic Growth Through Partnership: Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure Development’.

It has brought together local, regional and international experts to discuss, deliberate on and examine key issues that will impact the continued growth of Jamaica through infrastructure development, the expansion of the emerging private equity and venture capital markets and continued growth of the SME sector, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Last Updated: June 12, 2019

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