Economy Able to Withstand Some Shocks – PM

The island’s economic growth over the last decade has improved its ability to respond to shocks, says Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness.

“Jamaica has changed quite a bit in the last decade to the point where we are able to withstand some shocks. It’s not every shock that we will be able to withstand, but if we continue to grow our economy and run our public bodies well so that they have strong balance sheets, then they will be able to respond to shocks and crises,” Mr. Holness said.

The Prime Minister was addressing a meeting at the Ocho Rios Cruise Terminal in St. Ann on Friday (June 21).

During his visit, Mr. Holness examined a section of the pier that was damaged recently. In February, the cruise ship Carnival Magic, damaged the breasting dolphins and the concrete berthing structure after a collision at the pier due to rough seas.

“If this had occurred 10 years ago, the conversation would not be ‘when are we going to finish’, but ‘when are we going to start’ and I need to remind Jamaicans of this. If this had happened 10 years ago, the question would not be ‘how much is it going to cost’, but ‘how are we going to borrow to fix it’,” he pointed out.

Mr. Holness said the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) has the responsibility to ensure Jamaica’s resilience in the cruise shipping market, particularly as it relates to the readiness of its port infrastructure.

“The PAJ is one of our well-run public institutions, meaning that it has a balance sheet that can support the cost of resilience. The importance of having a good economy or running a good entity, that is what gives you the ability to withstand shocks,” the Prime Minister stated.

Mr. Holness noted that consultants have been doing all the necessary tests to advise accordingly, regarding the engineering needed to do the repairs.

“They have to do all kinds of studies, they have to go out there to study the sea floor, they have to study wave action, they have to, first of all examine the damage that was done and then engineer [the area] to be stronger than it was before. So quite a bit of work is needed to be done,” he said.

He encouraged persons dependent on cruise shipping in the town to understand that there is a process which must take place, so that when the infrastructure is rebuilt, it can withstand the next crises should one occur.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the damage to the structure provided an opportunity to reengineer, recraft and expand what exists.

He assured stakeholders that there will be a balance between bringing back some level of normalcy, while developing the pier “so that we can reach to a new level, a higher level, a better level of operations.”

A phased approach will be taken in repairing the pier, and it will be expanded to prevent a recurrence of a similar incident.

“We would open up a space that we can have the construction of a new finger pier that can take larger ships. In fact, we will take two of the new larger ship classes which are now being built, and in the foreseeable medium-term five-year plan, the potential to do even more developments around this area,” Mr. Holness said.

“Yes, it is a dislocation, yes, we understand that it will [have] an impact, but I want to give the people of Ocho Rios the assurance that we are moving as quickly as possible to [not just] get it done quickly, but get it done right,” he added.

The damaged berth at the pier is slated to be repaired over a one-year period.

Vessels which had been scheduled to make calls on Ocho Rios have been redirected to Reynold’s Pier, in the parish, and to the Falmouth, Trelawny and Montego Bay, St James piers.