WITH ground broken on Wednesday for the construction of the Raintree Commercial Complex at Ferry Pen in St Catherine, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said it marked the realisation of Government’s long-held vision of transforming underutilised land into a centre of economic activity, employment, innovation and inclusive growth.

The complex, which will be built on 108 acres of land, is a collaborative effort with the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) taking the lead. It is the first phase of a plan to develop more than 3,400 acres of land in Caymanas Estates.

Holness said the Raintree Commercial Complex is projected to attract capital investment of at least $3.8 billion in infrastructure and will support long-term private investments exceeding $15 billion.

The 108 acres of land, which forms block one of the overall project, will be subdivided and dedicated to commercial and light industrial development, and Holness said Wednesday’s ceremony marked the first definitive step towards activating a space which has been zoned, master planned and environmentally assessed to support a new generation of enterprise and employment. He added that the project is poised to deliver a much-needed supply of service, investment-ready lots in proximity to major roads and urban centres which will enable the filling of a market gap for modern commercial infrastructure outside of Kingston.

“During construction, we expect 2,000 jobs to be created. Over the long term, this complex has the potential to accommodate more than 5,000 permanent jobs, many of which will be in high-growth sectors such as business process outsourcing, logistics, manufacturing, warehousing and other commercial activities. As such, this project represents real opportunities for people,” Holness pointed out.

“I can see [opportunities for] the welders, technicians, engineers, administrative staff, ICT professionals and small entrepreneurs. This is how we translate our economic gains into better lives for the people. The over $15 billion of projected private investment on this site, driven by the sale of development lots, will have a multiplier effect leading directly into the local economy, creating demand for jobs, services, housing and transportation,” the prime minister added.

The project, he added, represents the vision he has of moving Jamaica from potential to progress. He said it will lay the foundation for the future of economic expansion, job creation and spatial transformation that will serve generations to come.

“Let me congratulate the UDC for its unwavering commitment in the revitalisation of this bold initiative. Your stewardship of the Caymanas Estates Development area reflects the very purpose for which the UDC was established, which is to drive sustainable urban transformation in a way that balances development with environmental stewardship and social inclusion. This moment represents the fruits of patient, coordinated planning by the Urban Development Corporation in partnership with government ministries, regulatory agencies, investors and the communities surrounding the site,” said Holness.

“The Caymanas Estate development area, of which the Raintree development is a part, has long been earmarked as one of the most strategically valuable land banks in the Kingston Metropolitan Region, encompassing over 10,000 acres across the St Catherine, St Andrew boundary. The area sits at the convergence of three major highways, the Edward Seaga, PJ Patterson and Nelson Mandela Highway, giving it unmatched accessibility to Kingston, Spanish Town, Portmore and other key logistics gateway. For decades, this land held potential. Today, we are converting that potential into progress. We are converting dreams into reality,” he said.

Norman Brown, chairman of the UDC, said the Raintree project is the first commercial development that the UDC has embarked on in close to three decades.

“We have done other developments in Jamaica to grow social enterprise, but this development is our first commercial development in 27 years. This development will be a strategic, investor-ready and future-facing development, proudly brought to you by the Urban Development Corporation. Today is the re-emergence of the Urban Development Corporation in the development landscape of Jamaica,” Brown said.

“The first phase consists of 69 fully serviced commercial lots offered to the market with modern infrastructure and strategic access to the ports, highways and labour. The response by investors has been amazing. So far, without a shovel in the ground, we have sold at least 35 per cent of the lots. We anticipate that after today’s contract signing and presentation, we will have other investors in the audience who will be interested,” he added.

Brown, meanwhile, announced that very soon ground will be broken close to the Raintree development for the construction of more than 1,200 houses.

“We should be back in this space in another month or two to break ground for the housing aspect in our thrust to develop Caymanas. We will be doing 1,250 houses in a joint venture partnership with Gore Development Limited as our joint venture partner and we will be breaking ground for that shortly. That will be the first phase of about 4,000 houses that we want to direct in the Caymanas area.”

He added: “We are going to Breaton with 2,000 units and Hellshire with another 2,000 units. The UDC is going into the housing market in a very serious way to add to the housing stock. We will not be confining our operations to Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine. We will be going to Westmoreland with 1,500 units and we will be going to St Ann with another 600 units, and other locations as well to do a total of 12, 000 units.”