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UDC to Spend $788 Million on Capital Projects

May 18, 2012

The Full Story

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) plans to spend some $788 in total capital expenditure during the financial year.

This is contained in the Jamaica Public Bodies, Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year ending March 2013, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on May 10. The major item budgeted for is the completion of outstanding work on the Simon Bolivar Cultural Centre at North Parade, downtown Kingston,on which $88 million will be spent.

The project, which is provided for under the Venezuelan Investment Fund (BANDES), aims to expand and develop existing and new cultural and sports facilities; nurture creative talent; promote cultural fraternity in the Caribbean; stimulate and enhance cultural exchanges with countries in the region; provide training programmes, and develop human resources.

Meanwhile, in order to foster development, the UDC also plans to undertake infrastructure works amounting to approximately $614 million with the main activities scheduled to be carried out in Ocho Rios, St. Ann and on the Caymanas Estate in St. Catherine.

The UDC reports that its revenues, after cost of sales, are budgeted at some $2.5 billion with the major contributor being income, from the sale of real estate, of $1.3 billion, and from management companies, particularly the St. Ann Development Company (SADCO), totalling $796.27 million.

Notably also, extraordinary income of $731 million is projected from the privatization of assets. Total expenses are projected at $3,225.45 million resulting in the Corporation recording a net profit of $16.88 million on operations after tax, compared to the net loss of $977.03 million estimated for 2011/12.

The UDC is a self-financing entity with its main activity being urban and rural renewal and orderly development in specific areas designated by the Government of Jamaica (GoJ), with the goal of stimulating economic development in the nation’s interest.

The development initiatives to be undertaken will serve to address economic and social concerns such as employment creation, poverty reduction, protection of the natural environment and the stimulation of economic development.

 

By Allan Brooks, JIS Senior Reporter

Last Updated: July 30, 2013

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