MANDEVILLE, Manchester — President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Simone Spence-Johnson says the completion of the US$188-million May Pen to Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000 will drive economic growth in this south-central parish.

“[With] the development for the highway, and cutting down that commuting time, we are looking at an upsurge of development in the parish, so we are looking at construction which is going to be on an uptick,” she told the Jamaica Observer, following the chamber’s recently held annual general meeting at Mandeville Hotel.

“We are looking at businesses coming into the parish. We are looking at real estate going up — more people are relocating here, because the commute time is shorter,” she said in anticipation of increased traffic between Kingston and Mandeville.

The highway, which is now 75 per cent complete, is fast advancing and is expected to be completed ahead of the adjusted March 2023 deadline.

The project — which will reduce travel time between Kingston, Mandeville and points west — was originally scheduled for completion in October 2022.

She pointed to the need for new industries to boost economic growth in Manchester following the decline of the bauxite/alumina industry.

Over the years south-central Jamaica depended on the bauxite industry, which provided thousands of jobs prior to the closure of two refineries, namely Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO)/Alpart at Nain in St Elizabeth and the now mothballed Windalco Kirkvine alumina plant in Manchester.

The Kirkvine alumina plant now owned by Russian aluminum conglomerate UC Rusal was closed down in 2009 and has not resumed operations since, despite numerous indications of interest to do so by the company and former Government ministers of mining.

“We are really looking for Mandeville to be positioned for that next boom after bauxite in terms of the industrial age,” said Spence-Johnson.

She said investors should tap into the benefits of Mandeville’s geographical location.

“We are encouraging them. Mandeville is centrally located with a short distance to Kingston and the same to the west coast of the island. We want to see businesses coming in. We would want to see a [movie] theatre again in the parish,” she said.

The chamber president said Mandeville needs more family-oriented entertainment opportunities.

“We would love some more forms of entertainment and not just secular entertainment,” she said.

“We definitely want to see where these people who are coming out of university and what they can go into at their entry level jobs, feel that they are taking home something substantial,” she added.

She pointed to major investments on the way including Sovereign Centre Mandeville on Caledonia Road.

“Others are following suit and because of what we have here,” she said.

She added that the “university town” is ideal for business investment.

“The biggest university here is the Northern Caribbean University, but we do have other smaller universities and we have people who are qualified,” she said.

“We want to encourage those who have business ideas to step out and launch, because right now Manchester is prime,” she added.

She pointed to the $1.2-billion K and T Development BPO complex at Bloomfield on the outskirts of the Mandeville town centre, which is now under construction.

“[It] will provide a lot of jobs… I reiterate the point [that] Kingston is not Jamaica, so we have to understand that Mandeville has worth. We are standing firm and holding our own as a parish to contend with,” she said.