US$50 Million to Further Upgrade Port of Kingston This Year

Approximately US$50 million will be invested to further upgrade the equipment and increase the capacity of the Port of Kingston this year.

The disclosure was made by Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, during his keynote address at the opening of Outsource2Jamaica, on Thursday (April 10), at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.

Dr. Holness explained that the Port of Kingston is at the heart of Jamaica’s logistics vision.

“The Port of Kingston is now globally ranked among the top-100 ports in the world. Since 2016, under a 30-year concession agreement with the Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited, over US$400 million of investment with advanced geopositioning technology, new cranes and upgraded infrastructure, we have increased cargo volumes in our ports by over 50 per cent. We have increased employment by over 53 per cent,” he shared.

Dr. Holness said the Government is leveraging this advantage not only to boost trade but to create new global services opportunities in supply chain management, logistics, inventory control and freight-forwarding services.

“For decades, we have spoken about Jamaica’s potential to become the logistics hub of the Americas. Today, I can say with confidence, we are no longer imagining the future, we are building it. Jamaica’s strategic location at the crossroads of north-south and east-west shipping lanes, paired with world-class port infrastructure, gives us a natural competitive edge,” he said.