Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday commended Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited for its $8.4-billion investment in the development of commercial space in Portmore, St Catherine, but insisted that there needs to be more aggressive investment to continue the country’s growth trajectory.

Holness, who was participating in the ground-breaking ceremony for the development dubbed the ‘Portmore Promenade’, said “the rate at how we are investing needs to increase double time than what we are doing now” in order to recoup the many years of non-growth.

“I am saying that the economy is doing well, but the economy needs to do much better. What Sagicor is doing here is laudible but we need Sagicor to do 10 times more what they are doing. That’s the reality. If we are going to catch up for the decades that we have lost…that’s the reality…

“If we are going to catch up, we need to be working much harder than we are now and that is the whole issue of productivity. We need to increase our productivity as a people and as a country,” he said.

Even as he continued to heap praises on Sagicor for believing in Jamaica and for undertaking this new initiative and other developments, Holness contented that “this is just a drop in the bucket of investments that are needed to truly make Jamaica a rapidly growing country”.

The prime minister went on to thank other investors/developers for their ongoing investment in the country and urged them to do even more, citing that they should have the confidence to do so given that “government policy, government administration is stable and improving”.

He argued that Jamaica is changing day by day and needs a Government that understands this, pointing out that the country is now at an inflection point, that is the point at which the pace of change changes rapidly.

“We don’t want to disturb that, we don’t want to change good Government, we want to keep the change that is happening, that rapid increase in development,” he quipped.

In the meantime, welcoming the 1,500 jobs which are expected to be generated under the project, the prime minister said the Portmore Promenade holds immense promise and potential for the community within the Greater Bernard Lodge development.

The project, which forms part of the Government’s development of the Greater Bernard Lodge area, seeks to provide a convenient mix of commercial activities and amenities tailored to meet the needs of the existing and expanding community, with hundreds of houses being developed in the area.

President and CEO of Sagicor Group Jamaica Christopher Zacca said the 30-acre site, which will include approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space, “is not just a development; it is a testimony to our dedication to creating a vibrant and eco-friendly community hub”.

Said Zacca, “This development is for Portmore, it is for the surrounding communities, and indeed for the wider parish of St Catherine.”

The development, which is envisioned as a one-stop shop for all community needs, will feature, among other things, business process outsourcing (BPO) space, a medical centre, an interactive park, a gas station, and will also see the development of a new four-lane road.