Whither the new Morant Bay Urban Centre?

On July 13, 2017, there was a massive gathering, the second ‘HOPE for Jamaica’ town hall meeting, at Springfield, St Thomas on the property where a Goodyear tyre factory was established, and closed about 25 years ago. The media blitz was to announce plans for the establishment of the Morant Bay Urban Centre (MBUC) in the parish that was the setting for the 1865 Morant Bay Uprising.

That unprecedent revolt was the culmination of years of passive resistance against oppression and social injustice, and the refusal of the colonial government to listen to the cries of the people. The aftermath was bloody as hundreds of people from the laity were killed. It also resulted in a change of the system of governance and the establishment of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in 1866.

Yet, the lot of the people remained the same. Independence came along in 1962, 97 years after the uprising, but the unflattering economic and social conditions in the parish still did not change.

Since the 2017 announcements and hype, much, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the US$384 million Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project to improve the 110-kilometre roadway between Harbour View in Kingston and Port Antonio in Portland, has happened, but the centre remained a mirage.

A November 2020 project update said: “Construction is projected to begin in the first quarter of 2021 with strategic focus placed on ‘fast tracking’ the construction of the stand-alone buildings to accommodate businesses such as fast-food establishments, banks and other commercial entities. The MBUC is presently overbooked. To date, interest in this project includes two business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, a university, supermarkets and multiple fast-food restaurants, along with other government and private sector entities. The intention is to have a BPO company as a major anchor at the location, with 40-50,000 sq. ft. being reserved for this sector. The design phase will be completed by December 2020.”

The latest update, in January 2022, revealed that “construction of the 436,000 sq. ft. of space is expected to begin at the end of March 2022. The Bill of Quantities is completed. In addition, approvals have been received from National Environment and Planning Agency, National Water Commission, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Ministry of Labour, Jamaica Fire Brigade, National Water Commission and the St Thomas Municipal Corporation.”

Now, it is 60 years since Independence, and it seems like the haze around the MBUC has dissipated exposing an enclosure around the said property. When The Gleaner visited the parish on the eighth of this month, people who seemed to be in positions of authority were on the property and heavy equipment could be seen demolishing the ruins of the factory. And, based on what The Gleaner was told, the urban centre is in fact on the runway, ready for take-off. But, exactly what will it contain?

The development, costing about $4 billion, is to be established on the 25-acre former Goodyear property and adjacent lands acquired from a private property. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, through the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ), it expected to be a one-stop shop incorporating an industrial and commercial complex consisting of 365,000 square feet of space that will facilitate entities and amenities, providing improved delivery of key public and private sector services. Of that amount, the Goodyear factory building accounts for 130,000 square feet.

The information provided to the media in 2017 said the new urban space will accommodate the St Thomas Municipal Corporation building, a town hall, a museum to be named the Paul Bogle Hall, and a commercial/retail complex hosting a range of business and financial entities and food establishments. There will be two BPO facilities comprising approximately 80,000 square feet. They will employ some 3,000 people working on a two-shift system, and have the capacity for expansion by another 80,000 square feet to generate an additional 3,000 jobs.

Also on the agenda are the offices for the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency; the Registrar General’s Department and Tax Administration Jamaica; a Justice Square with a parish court, family court and police post; a HEART Trust/NSTA academy; tertiary institutions; an industrial zone targeting small, medium and large enterprises; a medical centre; a library; a daycare facility; and a heritage park incorporating a recreational area, jogging trail and an amphitheatre.

The MBUC is a Cabinet-approved joint venture agreement between the FCJ and China Harbour Engineering Company Limited. In 2017, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, after the new urban centre was completed, the Government would take steps to declare the ‘ole’ Morant Bay a heritage site in order to preserve buildings deemed to be of historical and architectural significance, and serve as the catalyst for tourism development in St Thomas. Time will tell.