JAMPRO Facilitates Over $27 Billion in Investment and 8,261 Jobs

The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is reporting major success in promoting and facilitating investment and employment opportunities for the 2014/15 financial year.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on January 13, President of JAMPRO, Diane Edwards, said “we have recorded capital expenditure/capital investment of $27.1 billion for JAMPRO-facilitated projects.”“(This) represents a 33 per cent overachievement of our targets for that financial year,” she added.

In terms of job creation, she noted that JAMPRO stimulated the creation of 8,261 jobs against a target of 7,714 and facilitated linkages contracts during that period to the value of $994 million, which represent a 121 per cent achievement.

In export sales, she informed that the agency achieved 71 per cent of the target, despite severe drought, which impacted fresh produce and processed foods.

“We still acquitted ourselves creditably amidst that situation and we expect that with better climatic situation this year, we will improve on that result,” the President pointed out.

A major achievement for JAMPRO for the 2015 calendar year was the successful staging of the Jamaica Investment Forum (JIF), which attracted 150 international and over 50 local investors.

“JIF allowed us to create a matchmaking platform for local and international investors from which we generated 32 leads from persons and entities with real, concrete, serious interest,” she noted, adding that the forum generated 21 million impressions online with 50 stories printed and published about business brand Jamaica.

Ms. Edwards indicated that several projects are now in advanced stages of discussion as a result of JIF 2015.

“There is an energy project to develop a biodiesel plant in Jamaica using local feedstock, which will stimulate agriculture and generate renewable energy,” she highlighted.

She further informed that Malaysian company, Global Development Corporation, is looking to develop housing solutions and a factory.

“They will be starting off with some luxury housing development and also develop a factory to do prefabricated panels for the construction of both middle and low-income housing,” she informed.

For 2016, JAMPRO will continue to focus on promoting Jamaica as a business destination with the introduction of its ‘Do Business Jamaica’ interactive online portal.

“JAMPRO is really all about business and we feel that there is need to develop the business face of Jamaica and not leave the entire international global market to think of Jamaica only as a tourism destination,” the President said.

She pointed out that this interactive platform online will permeate everything that JAMPRO does and attract the attention of investors.

“We have some projects that we are working on that will really change the Jamaican economic landscape…one is going to be bringing back cruise shipping to Kingston which is going to be a huge development…other projects will aid at improving the logistics chain for agriculture,” Ms. Edwards highlighted.

The projects she continued “will change the picture in terms of how investment is conducted and in terms of the logistics impact this will have on how competitively we get our products to market.”