FACED with recent criticisms over the slow take up of units at the $6-billion Morant Bay Urban Centre, the Government on Thursday inked a deal with 13 State agencies which will set up shop at the St Thomas-based complex.

Last month the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) argued that the centre “remained incomplete and largely inaccessible to tenants” nearly a year after its official opening.

“The facility still lacks basic utilities and faces unresolved sewage issues, with the vast majority of commercial spaces yet to be handed over…It is an act of fiscal irresponsibility and a disservice to the people of St Thomas,” said Anthony Hylton, the Opposition spokesman on industry.

The centre is the largest single investment in a town in the country’s modern history and is expected to have 88 units occupied by private sector and State agencies.

At a signing ceremony Thursday morning, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development Robert Montague explained that the centre will see more than 50 per cent of the units occupied by State entities.

“We are happy to see that the government entities have now positively signalled that they are moving into the Morant Bay Urban Centre space. It is also a signal to the private sector that the public sector is populating and they now need to move in because we understand a lot of private sector people, they don’t want to just move in with a store, with a restaurant, and then there is no customers,” Montague told the Jamaica Observer following the lease-signing ceremony at the ministry’s conference room in New Kingston.

He added that the services offered by the entities are vital to the residents of St Thomas.

“In populating the urban centre it creates jobs, it creates investment opportunities for other persons looking on. There are going to be, we know, a lot of housing starts. There is the possibility for HEART/NSTA Trust to come in to assess, certify, and train persons in the construction industry and in the service industry. Getting a university, a tertiary institution out in St Thomas is also a very good thing for the development of the parish,” said Montague as he added that the Government is extremely pleased with the signings.

The agencies expected to set up shop in the Morant Bay Urban Centre include South East Regional Authority (SERHA), St Thomas Municipal Corporation, HEART/NSTA Trust, Tax Administration of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service, Child Protection and Family Services Agency, National Water Commission (NWC), Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency, Department of Correctional Services, Ministry of Justice, Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ), and the Tourism Product Development Company.

Chairman of the FCJ Lyttleton “Tanny” Shirley explained that the agencies will not be open to the public immediately as they are currently entering their “buildout” period, which can last for three months or more.

“The buildout period means they have to come in, they have to put out their tiles, they have to put in their ceilings, their electrical plugs, their partitions, their furniture, all these things, you have to have a layout plan…they have to speak to each other to find out office size requirement, furniture layouts, etc,” Shirley told the
Observer as he added that the buildout period is technical and time consuming.

He pointed out that government entities are required to go through a process, including National Land Agency (NLA), which has to agree on a rental rate and review the lease. After which the buildout period can begin.

“Some of these buildings are big buildings, some will take four months to finish buildout, some might take two months. Remember, Government has to go through a tender process, the preparation, so it takes time,” he added.

Shirley argued that the ribbon-cutting ceremony which took place last May was a marketing strategy for the FCJ, signifying that the centre was ready for businesses to come in and start their buildout.

“Persons who have their own agenda have been using the ribbon-cutting for whatever reason. We are a private sector company, we decided if we want to have ribbon-cutting or not, we decided it was a part of our marketing strategy. You can’t have almost 500,000 square feet of space and 32 acres of land [and] don’t market it. You don’t borrow $6 billion from bank and don’t have a strategic plan on how to bring in clients and how to market that project,” he argued.

The FCJ head charged that the entity is “right on target” as he dismissed claims of the absence of light and water at the centre.

“This myth about water not there, water was always there, electricity was always there, but you have to build out your space to access electricity and water. During that period we had two hurricanes which set back JPS [Jamaica Public Service Company] and NWC from being on the site. The first hurricane had JPS and NWC off the site for four months, then Melissa came. That again caused a relocation from our site and they have just been back, they have been back three weeks,” he said.

Shirley argued that despite only KFC currently in operation in the centre, more businesses are expected to begin operations by the end of this month as many have completed their buildout and are waiting for JPS connection.

He added that once the centre is fully occupied it is estimated that more than 3,000 people will be employed there.