Milestone Jamaica highway nears completion

Officials at China Harbor Engineering Co, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co, said they will complete work on Jamaica's most-expensive ever construction project, the south-north expressway, by March next year.

The four-lane, 68-kilometer and $730-million highway is CHEC's first so-called engineering, procurement and construction deal, and among the first overseas infrastructure contracts by a Chinese firm using the "build, operate and transfer" model.

Many economies in the Caribbean rely on trade in commodities, agricultural and mining products. Tang Zhongdong, CHEC vice-president, said that a shortage of good infrastructure such as roads, airports, bridges and container ports, however, has affected government revenues and standards of living.

The soon-to-be-ready highway will connect Caymanas in the Saint Catherine region－a town about 11 km west of Kingston, the country's capital－with Ocho Rios, in the parish of Saint Ann on its north coast.

Sealed by CHEC with the Jamaican government in 2012, the Chinese company's share of total contract value was $540 million, but more importantly, said Tang, the project is a milestone as it has created a solid foundation for its future development in the region, and the rest of South America.

CHEC first entered the Caribbean in 2010, building a regional operational center in Jamaica to coordinate and promote its business in the region.

It has since set up branch offices in more than 10 countries, including Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Chile and Argentina.

Zhang Yuxin, a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said: "Even though the infrastructure market in the Caribbean and South America is slowly growing in sophistication, there are still risks involved such as currency fluctuations, higher operating costs and weak industrial facilities.

"But the silver lining has been the buoyant local demand and political need, which we expect will provide the right cushion for sustained growth."

CHEC's work in Jamaica has also included building a main road to the country's airport and other road-improvement projects, while regionally it has taken part in Costa Rica's No 32 highway reconstruction and expansion project, and the third phase of Colon container terminal project, in nearby Panama.