FCJ Directed to Develop Turnkey Community Micro-Business Parks

The Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) has been directed to develop turnkey community micro-business parks islandwide as a means of creating more cost-effective operation spaces for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, made the disclosure during the launch of Adam and Eve Day Spa’s new location on Old Hope Road in Kingston on Wednesday (May 15).

Mr. Holness said access to proper infrastructure, specifically purpose-built facilities, is a general challenge that businesses experience.

“The quality and availability of good real estate for business is a challenge, and the cost of getting access to this real estate is also a big, big challenge. Many businesspersons, particularly MSMEs, raise the issue of not having enough warehousing space. When they do find properties, the level of retrofitting that has to be done to make the property useful is sometimes overwhelming on the business,” the Prime Minister said.

“This is not an area in which government could easily solve the problem; this is really a private-sector challenge. How do we get the private sector to mobilise more capital in building out commercial spaces that are affordable and built in such a way that it can accommodate many types of businesses? It is being done, but not at the pace that would support business enterprise in the way that our business enterprise is growing,” he added.

Mr. Holness pointed out that the Government has directed the FCJ, that right across Jamaica, where they have property or where they do not, they should acquire to start building out “what we are calling the turnkey community micro-business parks”.

“We’re doing the first one in Morant Bay; we have made a massive investment in the parish of St. Thomas in building out the Morant Bay Urban Centre. The Morant Bay Urban Centre is on 25 acres of land. I toured there a few weeks ago; fantastic what is being done there in terms of buildings and facilities and infrastructure,” he stated.

“But we recognise that whilst we will have larger businesses moving in and occupying this space, we must support the MSMEs in and around the area to create this ecosystem of real estate and facilities. So the first park will be built there on an additional 10 acres that we have acquired. So, it is not only the urban centre in terms of the buildings that have been laid out for banks and for universities and for big shopping centres and so forth.

But we will build out a business park for micro and small businesses,” the Prime Minister added.
Mr. Holness also informed that the FCJ has undertaken massive expansion of the GARMEX facility in two phases, with some $3.5 billion spent over the last three years.

“It is a wonderful facility, and many businesses are finding accommodation there,” he said.

Mr. Holness emphasised that MSMEs are a critical part of the economy, noting that there are about 425,000 of these entities across Jamaica.

“In fact, we know this because many of them are registered tax-paying entities. We know that those 425,000 MSMEs generate annual revenues of between $15 million and $425 million yearly and they hire between one and 50 persons,” the Prime Minister stated.

He also informed that, collectively, there are about 412,000 own-account workers (self-employed persons) in Jamaica.

“So, when you look at the Jamaican economy and what carries the economy, it’s not just big businesses. The fact that the Jamaican economy continues to do well, our tax revenue intake continues to increase, it is because of businesses like Adam and Eve Day Spa,” Mr. Holness said.

For his part, Executive Chairman of Adam and Eve Day Spa, Garth Walker, informed that the company invested more than $150 million in the 10,000-square-foot property they now occupy and own.

“The journey for us has been good. We have been through our own tribulations. But what I will say is we are very happy where we are now; we have a dedicated competent team. We started out with 12 staff members at Constant Spring. In New Kingston, we grew to 22, and now we are a 45-member team strong,” he stated.

Other speakers at the event included Member of Parliament for St. Andrew South Eastern, Julian Robinson, and Dr. André Haughton, who represented Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding.