Growth In Construction Industry

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) said growth of 6.2 per cent is expected in the construction industry for the October to December 2020 quarter.

Finance and Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, who opened the 2021/22 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives, on March 9, said during April to June 2020, construction declined by 14.5 per cent, but grew by seven per cent in the July to September 2020 quarter.

“The construction sector is growing despite the COVID-19 pandemic. This growth is a reflection of the belief of those builders and developers that this, too, shall pass, and that there is a brighter future ahead for Jamaica,” he said.

Dr. Clarke said central bank modernisation, inclusive of the policy shift to inflation targeting, provided the space for interest rates to be reduced 10 times to record lows.

This, he said, allowed builders and developers the ability to access the capital needed, at attractive prices, to fuel construction.

In addition, the reduction and abolishment of transaction taxes on real estate provided a further boost to development.

Dr. Clarke said with the exception of the construction sector, which showed modest growth for 2020/21, all sectors of the economy have declined during the 2020/21 fiscal year.

The Finance Minister said the PIOJ expects the economy to contract by approximately 12 per cent this fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.

For calendar year 2020 – January to December – the economy is expected to contract by 10 per cent, as compared with the prior period of January to December 2019.

“The economic decline in 2020/21 was driven by a massive 70 per cent contraction in the tourist industry,” he said.