THE Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ), which has inked an agreement with the National Commercial Bank for the development which is set to rise on the rubble of the old Goodyear factory in St Thomas, indicates that so far 50 companies have expressed interest in occupying space at the new urban centre.

The old factory building will be gutted and new units constructed. Foundation and floor slabs will remain, the FCJ has indicated.

On January 21, 2021 the FCJ said it had secured financing for the upgrade and expansion of the old Goodyear factory into the Morant Bay Urban Centre (MBUC), with directors of the Morant Bay Urban Centre Company Limited signing an agreement with NCB.

The funding is in the amount of $6 billion and was described by the FCJ as a construction loan, paving the way for China Harbour Engineering Company Limited to begin construction in February 2022 with a completion time of 24 months.

The FCJ, in an update on Monday, February 7, stated that it could not disclose the terms and the amortisation schedule for the loan, nor the projected break even point on the investment, as “The Morant Bay Urban Centre Limited is a private company in which FCJ is a shareholder. We therefore cannot at this time disclose such information without the consent of our other shareholders.”

However, it was disclosed by the FCJ that, “We have over 50 prospective clients from the public and private sectors seeking to occupy 388 of the 436 thousand square feet of space.” The remaining square footage will be distributed as common areas.

The FCJ said the buildings to be constructted will include both two and three storeys. Additionally, some buildings will have a basement plus two floors.

Among the amenities will be over 500 parking spaces, a bus park, a recreational park with jogging trail, an amphitheatre, a police post and a food court.

FCJ Chairman Lyttleton “Tanny” Shirley said in a previous release that the project signals “the beginning of a new dawn for the parish of St Thomas, which has not experienced any major development in over 30 years.”

He stated, “St Thomas will now benefit from economic growth through the development of the Morant Bay Urban Centre alongside the construction of the highway which is now underway.”

The Morant Bay Urban Centre is expected to facilitate the amalgamation of services provided by the Government of Jamaica and the private sector through the creation of 436 thousand square feet of space.

Among the entities to take up space at the development are the St Thomas Municipal Corporation, the Ministry of Justice through the St Thomas Parish Court, all other government entities located in Morant Bay and several private sector companies to include KFC, Burger King and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, among others.

It was only in 2021 that shareholders in the old Goodyear factory facilities in Springfield, St Thomas, received their final payout.

In May last year, the liquidator overseeing the winding up of Goodyear Jamaica Limited announced a final payment of $0.63 per share.

Many years ago, Goodyear closed down the manufacturing of tyres locally, and was involved in distribution before its winding up. The manufacturing plant was located on the 30-acre site in Morant Bay.

Trading in Goodyear Jamaica was suspended on December 28, 2009 after its shareholders voted unanimously to wind up the company.