Jamaica’s Public-Private Partnership Policy Robust – PM
By: , November 4, 2022
Photo: Dave Reid
Prime Minister, the Most Hon, Andrew Holness (left), engages with Straddle Carrier Operator, Samuel Black (centre) and Electrical Engineer, Cherrissa Allen, during the ribbon cutting for the new Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) straddle fleet, valued at more than US$20 million, at the container port on Thursday (November 3).
Photo: Dave Reid
Prime Minister, the Most Hon, Andrew Holness (third right), cuts the ribbon for the new Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) straddle fleet, valued at more than US$20 million, at the container port on Thursday (November 3). He is joined by (from left) President and Chief Executive Officer of the Port Authority of Jamaica, Professor Gordon Shirley; Chief Executive Officer of KFTL, Captain Jedrzej Mierzewski; Chairman of the Port Authority, Alok Jain; Executive Vice President at global container shipping group CMA CGM, and Chairman of KFTL, Christine Cabau; Straddle Carrier Operator, Samuel Black; and Electrical Engineer, Cherrissa Allen.
Photo: Dave Reid
Prime Minister, the Most Hon, Andrew Holness, addresses the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited’s new straddle fleet, valued at more than US$20 million, at the container terminal on Thursday (November 3).The Full Story
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says Jamaica has a strong public-private partnership (PPP) policy, which is contributing to job creation and growth across various sectors.
He said that there are many other areas where the PPP model should be pursued for the country’s development.
“The role of Government is not to be the operator of everything. The role of Government is to empower private initiative,” he pointed out.
“We continue to evaluate and to improve the PPP policy, so that the public can have confidence that the arrangements will be well managed and the public’s interests will be protected,” the Prime Minister added.
He was delivering the keynote address during Thursday’s (November 3) ribbon-cutting ceremony for 19 straddle carriers, valued at more than US$20 million, which were acquired by Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) to boost operations at the Port of Kingston.
Prime Minister Holness hailed the PPP arrangement for the operation of the port.
He noted that under the 30- year concession agreement between the Port Authority of Jamaica and global container shipping group CMA CGM, which started in 2016, capacity at the port has almost doubled and about 200 new employees have been added.
KFTL, which is the concessionaire, is a subsidiary of CMA CGM.
“The concession agreement was well-negotiated, and Jamaica is benefiting from having that agreement,” the Prime Minister said.
He noted that CMA CGM has vast experience in shipping and logistics, and so it was a good idea to partner with the global entity to develop and expand the container port.
He said that the public benefits from the partnership through money going into the country’s coffers, while the Port Authority has been able to concentrate on other projects, such as investment in the Port Royal port and looking at the development of Portland.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister informed that the Administration is examining ways to expand shipping and logistics operations in the economy “in the same way that we have been instrumental in the expansion and institutionalisation of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry”.
“So, the Government, through the Port Authority, is looking at other lands in this area that could become available to support the expansion of the port and the associated logistics operations,” he said.
The straddle carriers will be used to move and stack containers at the KCT. When fully operationalised, they will play a major role in ensuring the efficient flow of domestic and transshipment operations at the port.