TO ensure a broader range of projects with more participants, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has announced that the Facilitated Acceleration of Strategic Transformation (FAST), the complementary body to the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), will facilitate projects of US$15 million ($2.4 billion).

During his budget presentation in March the prime minister had announced a minimum requirement of US$150 million or $24 billion.

He announced the change on Tuesday as he opened the debate on the Bill that will establish NaRRA, the body that will drive reconstruction efforts post-Hurricane Melissa, while undertaking major new projects such as a new Kingston Public Hospital, expansion of the Vernamfield Airport, and the proposed Government campus at Heroes’ Circle.

“After careful reflection on the investment landscape and the scale of private capital the Government would need to crowd in, we have decided to lower the FASTJamaica investment threshold from US$150 million to US$15 million. This is a deliberate decision to widen the door for resurgence. At US$15 million a broader universe of strategic investors — local, regional, Disapora, international — can qualify for the FAST pathway,” Holness told the House as he opened the debate.

“Imagine 100 projects at that threshold, that’s US$1.5 billion of private investment mobilised at speed, creating jobs, building capacity, and driving economic expansion across every region of the island,” he added.

The prime minister also noted that designated strategic investment projects under FASTJamaica will create a dedicated pathway to fast-track private sector-led strategic investment projects.

He pointed out that NaRRA will not be responsible for their delivery but will play a major role in streamlining the overall process.

“NaRRA will provide the power of expedition — coordinating across agencies, accelerating regulatory approvals, and compressing the enabling environment that a strategic investor needs to commit capital and commence execution,” said Holness.

According to the prime minister, “there are many projects sitting with various approval bodies, various municipalities, on the desks of various ministries just waiting for a signature to approve, waiting for a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ ”.

“Once you make that US$15-million threshold you can apply to be under FAST. You will get your ‘yes’ or your ‘no’, you will get your approval, you will get your permit, and you will be coordinated into the FAST ecosystem administered by NaRRA,” he said.

The prime minister argued that FASTJamaica addresses a problem that has cost Jamaica dearly for far too long.

“Too many promising, transformational, private sector investments that would create thousands of jobs, generate significant tax revenues, and reshape our economic geography have gone elsewhere. They have gone to countries that are simply more nimble, countries that can say ‘yes’ to strategic investors in weeks or months, not years,” he said.

Holness also sought to assure that accountability will not be sacrificed for speed.

“On the contrary, NaRRA will operate with a level of management discipline, transparency, and public reporting that has not previously been applied to Government infrastructure delivery at this scale,” he boasted.

The prime minister said the recently-created Jamaica Reconstruction and Resilience Oversight Committee (JAMRROC), which will operate in a similar fashion to the Economic Programme Oversight Committee, will hold NaRRA accountable.