Caribbean Cement Company On Thursday officially commissioned a $6.7-billion (US$42-million) debottleneck project at its Rockfort plant in Kingston, a development that Managing Director Jorge Martinez said will significantly enhance local cement production and support Jamaica’s infrastructure and housing demands.

The kiln expansion project, described by Martinez as one of the largest and most transformative investments in recent history, is set to increase clinker production, improve operational efficiency, and reduce the country’s reliance on imported cement.

“Three years ago we committed to increase our production capacity, also to reduce our environmental impact and, for sure, to meet entire growing demand of Jamaica. Today, I am proud to say that we have fulfilled, we can say mission accomplished on that promise…This exemplifies our full commitment to Jamaica, to our people, and the collaboration and determination that our people have to this beloved country,” Martinez told guests at the launch ceremony.

He explained that the debottleneck project includes the installation of advanced systems such as a new main house, a solid fuel dosing system with a storage silo, a CO2 fire suppression system, an inert system, upgraded process ducts, a new compressed air system, and a redesigned chimney.

Martinez noted that these improvements not only ensure greater reliability but also support environmental sustainability.

“It is crucial for both Caribbean Cement and Jamaica, and definitely, these types of projects will support that productivity, collaborating with better infrastructure projects, from roads to housing and to commercial developments, and very importantly, that will help us to operate in a more sustainable way through advanced technologies that will reduce emissions and optimise our use of energy,” he said.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, in his keynote address, noted that cement is fundamental to the country’s development and highlighted the challenges Jamaica has faced in the past when the supply could not keep pace with demand.

“When local demand for cement outpaces supply, as has increasingly been the case, we are forced to import, adding costs, creating delays, and increasing our dependence on external supply chains. These vulnerabilities have only been exacerbated by recent global disruptions from the pandemic-related logistics breakdowns to inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions,” he said.

He noted that the project is expected to alleviate these vulnerabilities by reducing Jamaica’s dependence on imported cement and enabling quicker, more cost-effective delivery of materials for critical construction projects.

“We cannot house our people if the fundamental inputs like cement are constrained by outdated or overstretched production capacity and this is the link between industrialisation and social transformation. When we invest in factories we invest in our families; when we strengthen our productive capacity we strengthen our national development; and this project does more than support housing. So, for us to start to really make an impact we must increase the pace of our industrial development… and Carib Cement is a critical element to this,” said Holness.

He also acknowledged the national significance of the investment, linking it directly to the Government’s broader development agenda.

“This is a strategic investment for Jamaica and indeed I would say that this is a partnership that we must ensure that that partnership works and that partnership lasts. We can’t rebuild the communities of Central Kingston, of Harbour View, the entire Kingston, we can’t rebuild those communities that are now in urban blight without a properly functioning cement corporation in Jamaica that can deliver the cement at an affordable price with greater efficiency,” he said.

Holness further stressed that the commissioning of the project represents more than just corporate progress, highlighting its tangible impact on ordinary Jamaicans and national economic resilience.

“So to the people of Jamaica, what we do today may seem like a corporate affair, but it will soon be felt, if not being felt already, in everyday life. It will be seen in the speed at which housing is built, in the cost of housing, [and] it will be evident in the jobs created,” he said.