DUBAI – Jamaica Monday signed a financial advisory services agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the Washington-based World Bank, for the development and structuring of the National Broadband Project as a public private partnership (PPP).
Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke (seated left) seals the deal with an handshake with Alfonso Garcia Mora, IFC’s regional vice-president, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, while minister with responsibility for water, environment and climate change Matthew Samuda (standing left) and a member of the IFC team looks on.The signing ceremony took place on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) here.
Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke, speaking at the signing ceremony that was also attended by the minister with responsibility for water, environment and climate change, Matthew Samuda, said that the government views it a priority to ensure that all Jamaicans have access to affordable, reliable, high speed broadband service.
“This is an essential building block of the transformation to a digital society which, in turn, promises to unleash greater productivity and faster growth. However, this vision cannot be affordably realised if all broadband providers have to reach all homes, entirely on their own proprietary networks.
“Working with minister with responsibility for digital and skills, transformation Dr Dana Dixon, and the IFC, we will develop a national broadband PPP that attracts well-resourced and technically proficient private investors to build out a complementary broadband network that can be leveraged by all broadband providers to provide universal, affordable access to broadband for all Jamaicans, wherever they reside and work,” he added.
The Jamaica government has already indicated that it intends to bolster the island’s broadband network through GovNet, which is a platform that will provide a secure network for all ministries, departments and agencies, according to a statement issued following the signing agreement.
It added that work has already started in phases to include the laying of some 32 kilometers of fiber optic cables along nine corridors in Kingston and St Andrew.
