Ministry says Jamalco expansion on track
A Ministry Paper tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday by the Ministry of Development has sought to give an assurance that the US$1.25 billion expansion of the Jamalco alumina plant in South East Clarendon is on track.
But Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding has claimed that the project could be derailed by the failure of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to agree on the price of Trinidadian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for the power plant, and that the 3,000 jobs which have been projected could be in jeopardy.
Speaking on Sunday at the annual conference of the Jamaica Labour Party’s South East Clarendon constituency at the Vere Technical High School, Golding said that while the preparatory work was near completion the major project is in jeopardy.
He said that the Ministry of Development, under which the bauxite alumina sector falls, has not said a word about the project, although that portion is near completion and people are already being laid off.
According to Golding, 40 people have already been laid off, “while the main part of the project, which will employ 3,000 people, is now in jeopardy”.
“Nobody is telling you that the project is now wobbling and unless something is done very quickly, almost immediately, then that project could very well fall by the wayside. This is further evidence that the country is running on auto pilot. Nobody is in charge, nobody who understands how critical th project is to the whole of Jamaica,” he claimed.
But Ministry Paper 81, tabled by the newly appointed Minister of Development Donald Buchanan in the House on Tuesday, said that facilitating the completion of the expansion of the refinery to 2.8 million tonnes per annum, at a cost of US$1.25 billion, and the construction of a natural gas plant at a cost of US$250 million was among the ministry’s priorities for 2006/2007.
The Ministry Paper, which contained the refinery’s corporate plan for the period, however, omitted capital costs for expenditure on the refinery expansion in the company’s total capital costs for 2006/2007.
But it confirmed that while the US$1.25 billion cost of the expansion is to be shared between CAP and US aluminium giant, Alcoa, 50/50 owners of Jamalco, the US$250 million cost of the refinery would be borne totally by Alcoa, which will solely own the refinery on completion.
balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com