Reconstruction Strategy Will Lead Jamaica into New Era of Resilience, Recovery, Growth – PM

Jamaica’s reconstruction strategy, being deployed across infrastructure, housing, digitalisation, logistics, agriculture and energy, will create thousands of jobs, improve national productivity and protect fiscal sustainability.

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, made the declaration in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (December 2), where he provided details about the comprehensive financial package of up to US$6.7 billion over three years, which is designed to strengthen recovery and reconstruction efforts.

“For the first time in our history, our national development vision is backed by a robust multi-year, multi-partner financing envelope. We now have a clear reconstruction strategy, an empowered institutional framework, unprecedented international support and a united national will. This Government will move forward with urgency, discipline and transparency, as we lead Jamaica into a new era of resilience, recovery and growth,” he stated.

The Prime Minister said that the resources being mobilised in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, are aligned with a clear, disciplined, multi-phase national reconstruction strategy.

Phase one is the stabilisation and the provision of essential services, including the restoration of electricity, water, connectivity, food, shelter and infrastructure and key transportation links, as these stabilise relief.

Dr. Holness noted that the provision of the food, water and other such items, will transition in December or early January from physical distribution to targeted financial support through a voucher system.

The funds will be facilitated through the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank Group (WBG).

Phase two, focused on economic and social recovery, entails the reopening of schools, restoration of health facilities, support for farmers, small businesses, tourism operations and the reactivation of the local economy.

Under this phase, direct support is being provided for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Dr. Holness said that MSMEs are a central pillar of the Government’s national recovery strategy and are essential to employment, rural livelihood, supply chain recovery and the restoration of commercial activity across the island.

“Ensuring their swift restart is, therefore, critical to Jamaica’s overall economic rebound. In this context, the Development Bank of Jamaica has launched its business recovery programme, a comprehensive package to restore operations across agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and health, with a strong focus on MSMEs. To capitalise this programme, the Cabinet has approved $3 billion in funding for the remainder of the 2025/2026 fiscal year,” Dr. Holness said, noting that further allocations will be made in the coming Budget.

Resilient reconstruction is the third phase of the Government’s multi-phase national rebuilding strategy.

“This is the heart of our long-term strategy. Every major investment will reflect stronger engineering, climate-ready design and future-proofing,” the Prime Minister said.

He informed that this includes resilient housing; rebuilding schools, hospitals and public buildings to high-resilience standards, including relocating them where necessary; climate-smart roads and bridges; coastal and river defence systems, including natural defences; strengthened public utilities and grid resilience; and digital and transport infrastructure to support productivity.

“Our reconstruction is not merely about restoring what was lost. It is about building a stronger, more competitive Jamaica capable of withstanding future climate shocks. We will approach reconstruction as a growth-inducing strategy,” the Prime Minister said, noting that there is the opportunity “to make a massive investment in our infrastructure, in our people, in the services that improve productivity.”