UDC boss says redevelopment will create construction jobs downtown
DOWNTOWN Kingston’s redevelopment will create construction jobs, and the public and private sectors should work together to undertake the development effectively, urged the executive chairman of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC).
We know that the construction industry provides one of the few short term solutions to the challenges of job creation,” said Vincent Lawrence, the guest speaker on Tuesday at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Job Creation Awards Ceremony at the Knutsford Court Hotel.
Lawrence said UDC statistics showed that “projects managed by us on behalf of other agencies generated 20,000 jobs” during the 2001/2002 construction year.
Some of the smaller projects under Lift Up Jamaica, he said, served as avenues through which the UDC provided jobs.
Lawrence invited the private sector to work with the UDC in joint venture projects that would assist the corporation in utilising lands for the development of agriculture, housing and tourism.
Prime Minister P J Patterson had set up a committee late last year to formulate a redevelopment plan for downtown Kingston. His initiative came after the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) had urged a renewal of the business district after law and order had been restored. The Chamber also called for street vending to be allowed only in prescribed areas.
Award winners at the ceremony were: JP Snacks, a division of JP Foods/Jamaica Producers, manufacturers of tropical snacks in Agualta Vale, St Mary; Dehring Bunting and Golding Limited (DB&G); Shalf Electronic Security Systems and EuroMark Limited.