ANYONE with an interest in Jamaica’s port development should take careful note of what is now happening in Cuba.

The Cuban Government, obviously planning ahead for the expected increase in cargo shipping from the expanded Panama Canal, is pumping US$900 million into developing a massive port and special commercial zone at Mariel.

Older Jamaicans will remember Mariel as the town located about 40 kilometres west of Havana which gained worldwide attention as the launch point of the Cuban boat exodus to Florida in 1980.

The decision to upgrade Mariel, we are told, was taken in 2009 as the Cubans recognised that their main harbour in Havana is too shallow for bigger, deeper-draft ‘post-Panamax’ vessels, which the expanded Panama Canal will be able to accommodate from the year 2015.

An upgraded Mariel is expected to allow Cuba to keep pace with global shipping innovations and accommodate more cargo, even with the embargo imposed on Cuba by the United States just over 50 years ago.

An Associated Press report published in yesterday’s Jamaica Observer quoted economist Mr Arturo Lopez-Levy, from the University of Denver, as saying that “The Port of Mariel could… contribute to a revival of Cuban foreign trade, more so if there are improvements in relations with the United States”.

Although attitudes to Cuba are changing slowly in the US, we don’t foresee a total lifting of that embargo in the near future, as there are still powerful legislators in Washington who strongly oppose Cuba’s communist ideology.

However, the Cuban Government has, in recent times, implemented a number of policy reforms to encourage investment.

In the case of the Mariel port, they are seeking to attract foreign investors to the commercial zone in the areas of food, biotech, renewable energy, packaging, and telecommunications.

To get those companies, Cuba is offering, initially, tax exemptions on labour, profits and sales and services. After the first year, a one per cent tax on sales and services will take effect, while taxes on profits will move to 12 per cent after 10 years.

Although the report points out that Cuba is still plagued by myriad problems affecting foreign investment, the fact is that the Government appears willing to make concessions for the Mariel development.

The question we now must ask ourselves here in Jamaica is whether we can afford to continue talking only about the expansion of our port in preparation for the increase in sea traffic after the expanded Panama Canal is opened.

And while we talk, we should also bear in mind that if the Chinese Government’s plan to cut a canal through Nicaragua comes to fruition, cargo movement into this region will increase. Will we, then, be fully prepared to capture some of that business?

It can’t be any clearer now that the time for talking is over.