KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Prime Minister Andrew Holness is imploring workers to strive to provide the best quality service in the fulfilment of their duties.

“Every single Jamaican in the public sector, or otherwise, who serves the public has a duty to ensure that the highest standards are maintained,” he said.

The prime minister noted that this is a major problem, which has the potential to turn away possible investors.

He was speaking during his official tour of the state-of-the-art air traffic control tower at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston, yesterday. This structure and the newly constructed tower at Sangster International Airport were completed at a total cost of $2.57 billion. 

Holness gave the example of an unpleasant experience, at one of the island’s airports, of a multibillionaire investor who is responsible for more than 7,000 jobs and could potentially bring an additional 7,000 jobs to Jamaica.

The prime minister said the investor shared with him that based on the interactions with certain personnel at the airport, he did not feel welcomed, and that he was having second thoughts about where he should invest.

“How many have we turned away like this? We don’t know. We all have a duty, and our simple actions can have major repercussions,” the prime minister reasoned.

In the meantime, Holness commended the country’s air traffic controllers for “the sterling service that they have been giving to Jamaica in ensuring that our airspace is safely and securely managed and for doing it in an efficient way”.

He noted that air traffic services are critical to Jamaica’s overall development, and support all the other industries, in particular tourism, and business in general.

He pointed out that the new tower is a major investment in the country’s ability to deliver air traffic services, not just for Jamaica but for other countries that may use its airspace.

“We are now on the cutting edge of technology and we have been rated very highly. We are now probably the best air traffic control service within the Caribbean, certainly in terms of our infrastructure and the technology that is there,” he said.

Holness noted that this new tower forms part of work to improve the infrastructure of the airport, which is expected to include the extension of the runway and investment in and around the airport. 

This, he said, fits into the Government’s overall plan to develop Kingston as the “central city for the Caribbean region”, where it will serve as the centre of lifestyle, industry and enterprise, commerce and trade, and culture.

“Building an airport isn’t the complete picture. You have to build things that people will want to come and see. You have to have the business here that people will come to. You have to build the attractions which people will want to come and see, live and experience the lifestyle,” he said.

Commissioned into service by the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) in November, the new 131-foot structure replaces the previous facility, which served the airport for more than 40 years. The Sangster International tower should be commissioned in June.

The new control tower is part of Government’s comprehensive $4.92-billion modernisation programme for the JCAA, undertaken to enhance safety, efficiency and reliability of its air navigation services.