ROSE HALL, St James – Prime Minister Bruce Golding has warned that the proposed second phase development of the Montego Bay Convention Centre is firmly hinged on the level of business the US$35-million facility will be able to atract.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is lobbying for the 50,000 square feet of the facility’s exhibition space to be improved to 100,000 square feet.

“Part of the problem with a convention centre is sometime you have a wonderful convention in January and then nothing happens again until later you have a small one, and then you get another somewhere around in August,” Golding declared at Friday’s opening of the facility. “Ed (Bartlett) that can’t work. If that will be the result of your marketing effort then 50,000 is what you will have. But If I know you well enough you are going to get me some back-to-back convention meetings.”

Meanwhile, Joy Douglas, general manager of the state-run Urban Development Corporation ( UDC) — the agency tasked with overseeing the project — is also pushing for work to commence on the second phase of the facility. She noted that already, preliminary design and preliminary costing have been undertaken for work on phase two of the project, constucted by Chinese firm, COMPLANT.

“So this is just gentle persuasion on my part on behalf of both UDC and COMPLANT for both governments to look assiduously at a phase two to be commenced in a timely manner to really take advantage for what will no doubt be a great demand for the facility,” Douglas noted.

Golding disclosed that the convention centre will need to be subsidised by government over the near-term.

“… we do not project that the business will be able not only to pay for the operating cost but service the loan as well,” Golding said.

Funded by the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Jamaica, grounds for the facility, sprawled on a 35 acres of land in Rose Hall, was broken about two years ago. The convention centre boast over 20,000 square feet of banquet facility and more than 11,000 square feet of meeting space.

The facility, which was officially opened last week, will host its inaugural event — the Caribbean Marketplace — on January 16-18.