KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica government says it remains “cautiously optimistic” that the local economy will register significant growth grow this year.
Prime Minister Andrew HolnessPrime Minister Andrew Holness believes that the island could record economic growth within the top end of the current four to nine per cent forecast range.
He said this optimism is based on the higher-than-expected pace of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations locally, the anticipated release of pent-up vacation demand and the impact of the new, significant fiscal and monetary stimulus in the United States.
Holness, who was addressing the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the corporate Jamaica office for the Dominican Republic-based construction and mining equipment distributor IMCA, said while the actual growth figures were not yet available, the projections were for the out-turn to range between seven and nine per cent for the April-June 2021 quarter, and four to eight per cent for the 2021/22 fiscal year, ending March 2022.
Additionally, he said signs were beginning to emerge of Jamaica’s rebounding from the economic fallout of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Holness noted that this was partly predicated on the “remarkable” increase in visitor arrivals since May 2021, among other signs.
“We had approximately 164,000 stopover visitors in June, up from 116,000 in May and… 83,000 in April. So, this is roughly 69 per cent of the pre-pandemic number of 239,000 in June 2019, Prime Minister Holness said, adding that based on the emerging trend, the Ministry of Tourism recently revised its visitor arrival forecast for the 2021 calendar year to 1.61 million, up from 1.15 million.
Holness said that despite the pandemic, the construction sector has recorded three consecutive quarters of economic growth.
“In the January-March 2021 quarter, growth in the goods producing industries was largely due to higher output levels in construction, up from 10.5 per cent, and mining and quarrying, up 7.1 per cent,” he said, noting that “these are very resilient sectors of our economy”.
Holness said against this background, IMCA’s decision to deepen its investment in Jamaica to the tune of more than eight million US dollars, was welcome.
“The Caterpillar brand (distributed in Jamaica by IMCA) has had a long and successful history in Jamaica. I’m optimistic that this project will be another industrial growth-stimulating project for Jamaica, as Caterpillar continues to bolster its presence here,” the Prime Minister said.
He said the plant is expected to employ 200 workers over the course of the construction phase and 82 permanent staff members, thereafter.
