Tweet
Panama Canal can transform Jamaica's economic fortunes
Published: Tuesday | April 10, 20126 Comments
Mike Henry
Mike Henry, Contributor
I READ with great interest the op-ed column titled 'Can the [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Panama [COLOR=blue !important]Canal[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] help the Caribbean?' in The Sunday Gleaner of April 1, 2012. My answer to that is a resounding yes! However, I sincerely hope previously laid plans for the Port of Kingston will be pursued by Government to capitalise on the widening of the Panama Canal to facilitate "post-Panamax vessels carrying up to 12,000 20-foot containers" by 2014, as stated by writer David Jessop.As Jessop made abundantly clear in his article, other countries, including Panama, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]The [COLOR=blue !important]Bahamas[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] and our neighbour, Cuba, are moving full steam ahead "as it is anticipated that one outcome will be for the region's deep-water ports to become significant trans-shipment logistics centres and hubs for international commerce".
Similar to New York being described as the 'crossroads' of the financial world, Jamaica could become the crossroad of the maritime world by becoming the major trans-shipment and logistics hub in the Caribbean Basin, offering renewed hope for real growth, investment and development.
Ideally located
Our geographic location in the Caribbean and already advanced development of the Kingston Container Terminal have resulted in the implementation agreement for investment in Jamaica by CMA CGM, one of the world's leading shipping groups.
The United States' inability to accept mega vessels means these mother ships have to transfer cargo to smaller ships to distribute to the world by sea, air, rail and ground transportation.
With the widening of the Panama Canal, manufacturers will be dispatching their goods closer to a seaport axis from where cargo can quickly and efficiently reach their appropriate markets.
Therefore, manufacturers in the Far East, for example, will be filling these vessels with their products and warehousing cargo for logistics distribution (East meets West). This would enable these manufacturers to warehouse cheaper and break bulk at a lower cost than in their own country, hence utilising Caribbean labour through labelling, assembling and repackaging at logistic centres and marketing zones. Indeed, Caribbean labour is ideally suited for such growth in our environment of shrinking [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]job[/COLOR][/COLOR] markets.
Remarketing
The geographic location of the Caribbean also allows for the remarketing of customer returns, especially goods being returned through the continuous growth of e-commerce in which it is uneconomical for the seller to have goods returned but, instead, sold off to a brand outlet.
For example, Sears sells a shirt on the Internet (e-commerce) to an individual who wishes to return it (a dissatisfied customer). To repackage and return such items to main outlets would be too costly. Therefore, such companies, traders, manufacturers and shopkeepers must find distribution centres to market such merchandise, giving rise to factory outlets along the cheapest distribution route, one which can also reach all corners of the globe.
In such a scenario, there can be many Panama-like free zones scattered across the Caribbean. However, this can only be capitalised on by the Caribbean establishing a hub, creating a unified region with an open-skies approach. Jamaica offers the best opportunity for capitalising on a multi-modal plan of connecting sea and air as well as utilising its road and rail network - that's what my dream, the development of Vernamfield, entails.
Reducing the delivery time of goods and services to the markets of the world, as is, and when needed, is a must as ships and planes increase their cargo. Similar to the [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]expansion [COLOR=blue !important]of [/COLOR][COLOR=blue !important]the [/COLOR][COLOR=blue !important]Panama [/COLOR][COLOR=blue !important]Canal[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] to facilitate bigger ships, more runways are needed and both must be utilised to capacity or else they will not be economically feasible. It is interesting to note that Trinidad is now proceeding along the lines I have long preached.
Thus, it was my intention, as minister, that Jamaica should in the next two to three years capitalise and market the investment opportunities offered by the expansion of the canal and implement the following:
1. Dredge and expand the Kingston Harbour (in keeping with implementation agreement existing with CGA CGM, as well as expand business with other shippers);
2. Develop Fort Augusta as an additional container area as per discussions with the Chinese (this was almost at implementation stage) ;
3. Link the already existing rail corridor from Kingston Container Terminal to Vernam-field (discussions were well advanced);
4. Implement the Vernamfield development to accommodate large cargo planes (private financing);
5. Utilise the new 1B1Highway to Glenmuir to connect with Milk River Road (due for completion in August 2012);
6. Complete the Milk River Road to Vernamfield (signed under the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme);
7. Expand the cash crop/perishable acreage in Clarendon and St Elizabeth;
8. Utilise all the acreage around Vernamfield, creating free zones, aircraft-servicing schools, logistics centres;
9. Complete the proposed Caribbean Aerospace College (ready for implementation);
Most of the above can be done from developmental investments, based on private-public partnership, not loan funding. We should grasp the opportunity now and quickly build upon what was already in place so we're not left behind in 2014.
Mike Henry is a former minister of transport and works. Send comments to columns@gleanerjm.com.
Published: Tuesday | April 10, 20126 Comments
Mike Henry
Mike Henry, Contributor
I READ with great interest the op-ed column titled 'Can the [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Panama [COLOR=blue !important]Canal[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] help the Caribbean?' in The Sunday Gleaner of April 1, 2012. My answer to that is a resounding yes! However, I sincerely hope previously laid plans for the Port of Kingston will be pursued by Government to capitalise on the widening of the Panama Canal to facilitate "post-Panamax vessels carrying up to 12,000 20-foot containers" by 2014, as stated by writer David Jessop.As Jessop made abundantly clear in his article, other countries, including Panama, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]The [COLOR=blue !important]Bahamas[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] and our neighbour, Cuba, are moving full steam ahead "as it is anticipated that one outcome will be for the region's deep-water ports to become significant trans-shipment logistics centres and hubs for international commerce".
Similar to New York being described as the 'crossroads' of the financial world, Jamaica could become the crossroad of the maritime world by becoming the major trans-shipment and logistics hub in the Caribbean Basin, offering renewed hope for real growth, investment and development.
Ideally located
Our geographic location in the Caribbean and already advanced development of the Kingston Container Terminal have resulted in the implementation agreement for investment in Jamaica by CMA CGM, one of the world's leading shipping groups.
The United States' inability to accept mega vessels means these mother ships have to transfer cargo to smaller ships to distribute to the world by sea, air, rail and ground transportation.
With the widening of the Panama Canal, manufacturers will be dispatching their goods closer to a seaport axis from where cargo can quickly and efficiently reach their appropriate markets.
Therefore, manufacturers in the Far East, for example, will be filling these vessels with their products and warehousing cargo for logistics distribution (East meets West). This would enable these manufacturers to warehouse cheaper and break bulk at a lower cost than in their own country, hence utilising Caribbean labour through labelling, assembling and repackaging at logistic centres and marketing zones. Indeed, Caribbean labour is ideally suited for such growth in our environment of shrinking [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]job[/COLOR][/COLOR] markets.
Remarketing
The geographic location of the Caribbean also allows for the remarketing of customer returns, especially goods being returned through the continuous growth of e-commerce in which it is uneconomical for the seller to have goods returned but, instead, sold off to a brand outlet.
For example, Sears sells a shirt on the Internet (e-commerce) to an individual who wishes to return it (a dissatisfied customer). To repackage and return such items to main outlets would be too costly. Therefore, such companies, traders, manufacturers and shopkeepers must find distribution centres to market such merchandise, giving rise to factory outlets along the cheapest distribution route, one which can also reach all corners of the globe.
In such a scenario, there can be many Panama-like free zones scattered across the Caribbean. However, this can only be capitalised on by the Caribbean establishing a hub, creating a unified region with an open-skies approach. Jamaica offers the best opportunity for capitalising on a multi-modal plan of connecting sea and air as well as utilising its road and rail network - that's what my dream, the development of Vernamfield, entails.
Reducing the delivery time of goods and services to the markets of the world, as is, and when needed, is a must as ships and planes increase their cargo. Similar to the [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]expansion [COLOR=blue !important]of [/COLOR][COLOR=blue !important]the [/COLOR][COLOR=blue !important]Panama [/COLOR][COLOR=blue !important]Canal[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] to facilitate bigger ships, more runways are needed and both must be utilised to capacity or else they will not be economically feasible. It is interesting to note that Trinidad is now proceeding along the lines I have long preached.
Thus, it was my intention, as minister, that Jamaica should in the next two to three years capitalise and market the investment opportunities offered by the expansion of the canal and implement the following:
1. Dredge and expand the Kingston Harbour (in keeping with implementation agreement existing with CGA CGM, as well as expand business with other shippers);
2. Develop Fort Augusta as an additional container area as per discussions with the Chinese (this was almost at implementation stage) ;
3. Link the already existing rail corridor from Kingston Container Terminal to Vernam-field (discussions were well advanced);
4. Implement the Vernamfield development to accommodate large cargo planes (private financing);
5. Utilise the new 1B1Highway to Glenmuir to connect with Milk River Road (due for completion in August 2012);
6. Complete the Milk River Road to Vernamfield (signed under the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme);
7. Expand the cash crop/perishable acreage in Clarendon and St Elizabeth;
8. Utilise all the acreage around Vernamfield, creating free zones, aircraft-servicing schools, logistics centres;
9. Complete the proposed Caribbean Aerospace College (ready for implementation);
Most of the above can be done from developmental investments, based on private-public partnership, not loan funding. We should grasp the opportunity now and quickly build upon what was already in place so we're not left behind in 2014.
Mike Henry is a former minister of transport and works. Send comments to columns@gleanerjm.com.
Righteous talk dis... Digital Yaad tuh di Werl!! 
Comment