MONTEGO BAY, St James — Prime Minister Andrew Holness has promised a new town centre for Morant Bay, St Thomas, contingent on the proposed development of the old Goodyear facility.

“The Government will take that space and we will literally… in the 25-acre space that it occupies, create a new town centre in Morant Bay. It will be organised; it will be logically structured for the connections between what is needed for Government presence in a town. There will be a town hall for the parish council building right in the centre of the new town; there will be a space for a conference centre, a library, there will be space for shopping, but more importantly, we will create purpose manufacturing space,” Holness said.The prime minister was speaking at Thursday night’s opening of the inaugural staging of the Jamaica International Exhibition (JIE), a trade show put on by the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association’s (JMA) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre between June 1 and 3. He noted that there had been an attempt to convert the iconic manufacturing building, that has remained idle for over two decades, into a BPO (busines process outsourcing) facility, but that did not materialise. He, however, noted that BPO would be facilitated in the impending development.“…We are not losing faith with the BPO sector, so there will be some space available for business process outsourcing. We are creating an ecosystem for business and, at the same time, building out a well-organised township where we can give the people operating there law and order in the public space, ease of doing business and what we all want, a comfortable living that is a major investment that is being led by the Factories Corporation,” the prime minister stated, as he congratulated the Factories Corporation of Jamaica for their pivotal role in the project.“ I want to congratulate them on the work that they are doing. That is an example of how we will make it easier for business in Jamaica, and we are going to replicate this right across Jamaica,” Holness stated, suggesting that the event was putting Brand Jamaica on full display across the globe.For his part, JMA President Metry Seaga hailed his team for putting on the event; which boasted over 200 buyers and sellers.“Ladies and gentlemen, the next big thing is here and today (Thursday ) we see it before us in the Jamaica International Exhibition. The JIE will be one for the records: our blueprint for continued upgrading and reinvention. The JIE is a testament to the continued determination and innovative spirit of the JMA team and our partners, to be on the cutting edge of change and transformation,” Seaga argued.