Leveraging the Power of Speed & Connectivity - Jamaica Logistics Hub

The Jamaica Logistics Hub initiative will involve the creation of state of the art logistics zones, upgrading and further development of air and sea port infrastructure and the creation of an enabling environment which will allow businesses to fully exploit Jamaica’s strategic location.

Jamaica sits at the intersection of several maritime and aviation routes to the Americas, Europe and Western Africa.

As such, businesses located in Jamaica can readily access large commercial markets in North, Central and South America (totaling over 800 million people).

Jamaica’s Logistics Hub will provide businesses with prime opportunities for swift delivery to final consumers and substantial cost savings.

With strategic investment and global partnerships, the Jamaica Logistics Hub will include:

• Maritime and air cargo logistics hubs
• Strategic storage, handling and processing points for bulk commodities
• Expansive special economic zones facilitating assembly, warehousing, sorting, distribution and other value-added services, particularly for industries catering to time sensitive and high-value cargo
• Aviation-related maintenance repair and overhaul and ship repair and dry docking
• A robust digital network to support efficient global value chain tracking and tracing, as well as e-commerce operations

Israelis Jump Aboard Investment Train for Jamaica’s Logistics Hub
The Israeli government has committed extensive assistance to Jamaica in helping to forge a path to the planned logistics hub that represents one of the government’s primary hopes of stimulating economic recovery.

The Atlanta Blackstar says:

Ambassador-designate of Israel to Jamaica, Bahij Mansour, told The Sunday Gleaner that the vast expertise and experience of world-renowned ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, with its extensive network, will be brought to bear on the preparation and construction of the hub.

According to Mansour, Jamaicans will be invited to Israel to be trained while the hub is being constructed.

“As we look at how we can deepen the cooperation between the two countries, our government will be hosting Jamaicans to get some experience from Israel. I have high hope for this,” said Mansour.

Jamaica’s Logistics Hub Closer to Reality With Panama Collaboration
Work is far advanced for further collaboration between Jamaica and Panama toward the development of the island’s logistics hub initiative, says Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton.

“There is in the process, very advanced, a formal agreement between Jamaica and Panama that is… being worked out,” he stated.

The minister was responding to questions during the closing session of the two-day Jamaica Chamber of Commerce/JAMPRO Jamaica logistics hub symposium on Jan. 22, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

Hylton said that there is already “significant cooperation” between the two countries at the level of education and training.

“We (have) talked about the multilingual skills that have to be developed and we are working already with Panama to train them to come here for English and we go there for the Spanish. Training (is) already beginning in the zones in the areas that are critical to the success of our logistics hub.”

Hylton said that Jamaica stands ready to collaborate with partners both locally and internationally for the continued development of the island, noting that “Jamaica is friends with everyone and enemy to none.”

Director of marketing, Colon Free Trade Zone, Panama, Sonia Antón, stressed her company’s support in assisting Jamaica to become a key player in the logistics hub industry.

“We are going to give 100 percent of our support to your country and all the countries that need (it), our hands are open,” she said.

The Colón Free Trade Zone is a large entity near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, dedicated to re-exporting a wide variety of merchandise to Latin America and the Caribbean.

It is the largest free zone in the Americas and the second largest in the world. Created in 1948, the free zone houses 1, 751 merchants, and receives more than 250,000 visitors per year from all parts of the world.

Panama and Jamaica have maintained official diplomatic relations since July 1966.

Attending the symposium are key players in the private sector, experts in logistics, investors, government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, as well as a wide cross-section of other critical stakeholders.

The Jamaica Logistics Hub is central to the government’s economic growth strategy, aimed at driving investment and creating sustainable employment over the long term.

Jamaica will seek to capitalize on its prime location for increased maritime and aviation traffic through the region, with the opening of the expanded Panama Canal in 2015.

The hub will allow Jamaica to elevate its position in the global value and supply chains, with facilities that feature state-of-the-art special economic zones, attracting major transnational manufacturing and distribution companies.

It will also present a myriad of opportunities for the growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses, through linkages that connect them to global markets.

Source: Atlanta Blackstar

Related: Panama Canal Expansion Suspended Over Cost-Overrun Dispute