Jamaica and China sign framework for energy agreement

China is willing to invest up to US$6 billion to develop an industrial park and a special economic zone in Jamaica, a senior Chinese official has said.

Executive Vice-Governor, of Gansu Province in China, Huang Qiang, said Beijing was prepared to pump money into the facility alongside China’s State-owned Jiuquan Iron & Steel Group (JISCO)ALPART operations in Nain in the southern parish of St Elizabeth.

JISCO paid US$299 million to acquire ALPART, a modern, vertically-integrated production complex that includes bauxite mines and an alumina refinery and spent more than US$60 million to facilitate its re-opening last year.

A government statement Monday noted that the announcement by Qiang came at the signing of a Framework Agreement last Thursday and follows closely on the heal of a Non-Binding Agreement of Intent (NAI) on September 21 last year, between Transport and Mining Minister, Lester Henry and Governor of Gansu Province, Tang Renjian in China.

The statement noted that Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who witnessed the signing, is supportive of the project and has assigned Dr. Horace Chang, the Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, to work alongside Henry and their Gansu counterparts, to expedite the further development of the project.