US$8m cement distribution centre planned for Montego Bay

Plans to establish a new US$8m cement distribution centre in Montego Bay, Jamaica, have been put forward by cement importers Buying House Cement.

For the last 16 years, Montego Bay company Buying House Cement has been importing cement to meet 10 per cent demand from the Domicem cement plant in the Dominican Republic.

Businessman Mark Hart is the chairman of Cargo House Handlers, a publicly-listed company with 30 per cent shares in Buying House Cement. According to Hart, the development of the distribution centre is sparked by the building boom in the western end of the island, subsequently ratcheting up the demand for the key construction ingredient.

"We have invested in a modern distribution centre because we have seen that the market and the demand for cement will grow in the years to come because the country is positioned for growth and we are seeing that there are a lot of major projects either started or we expect to start," Mr Hart told the Jamaica Observer.

"There are hotel projects. Right now we have the Unico Montego Bay Hotel project kicking off, there is the Princess Resort down in Hanover area and there are other hotels that will start to come out of the ground very soon. You have the bypass road. On top of that, on the western side they will be doing the North Coast Highway enhancement that has been recently announced. Of course, the Government has also announced a housing agenda. So we see that the demand for cement is going to go up and we want to be in a position to handle the addition," he added.