The Factories Corporation of Jamaica Limited (FCJ) indicated on Monday, December 12 that more companies have signed space reservation agreements for its new commercial centre which is under development at the site of the old Goodyear factory in St Thomas.

The agreements are not actual leases, but nevertheless are commitments, it was indicated.

In March 2022, the agreement to construct the 436,000 sq ft Morant Bay Urban Centre was signed between the FCJ, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) and National Commercial Bank (NCB).

The project is costed at $5.9 billion, with the construction loan signed by NCB.

The FCJ’s new list of occupants include NCB, HEART Trust/NSTA, the University College of the Caribbean (UCC), the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), Restaurants of Jamaica Limited (KFC franchise), Joong Supermarket and Wholesale, Tastee Ltd and Burger King, business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and several medical facilities.

The centre will see the amalgamation of services provided by the Government of Jamaica and the private sector.

Among the State entities set to take up space at the development are the St Thomas Municipal Corporation, the Ministry of Justice through the St Thomas Parish Court, and other government entities located in Morant Bay.

In its update, the FCJ indicated that to date, preliminary works, which include: the clearing of the site behind the old Goodyear factory, demolition of old structures and termite treatment have been completed.

Foundation works have begun on various sections of the development; this including the concrete batching plant and foundation works for various buildings.

Meanwhile, the removal of the scrap metal from the property is now 97 per cent complete, in addition to the complete hoarding of the site, it was stated.