Kingston, the next wave city for BPO
DESPITE NUMEROUS projects to build out ready-to-use facilities for the ICT/BPO market, especially in Kingston and St Andrew, president of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), Gloria Henry says Jamaica is merely scratching the surface of the city’s potential to become the premier destination for Jamaica’s ICT/knowledge services industry.
“I am personally very pleased with the development taking place in Kingston, primarily the private-sectorled developments and new facilities that are being built,” she told BPO Jamaica. “I think Kingston is an ideal location because of the high concentration of tertiary graduates that are there.”
“It is ideal for locating a centre of excellence supporting knowledge services, and I think Jamaica should capitalise on the opportunity to diversify the value chain, positioning Kingston as the centre for knowledge services.”
She continued: “We have a good mix of multinationals, but I think we can attract more. There are other services that we should be looking to attract such as software development and animation; there is also a great opportunity for shared services, primarily in financing and accounting and on the heels of the renewal that is planned for downtown Kingston. I do think we can build a really diverse global services centre operations.”
Claude Duncan, JAMPRO vice-president for investments, is not surprised at the increased interest in Kingston.
“For us it is more what works for the client; some may prefer Montego Bay, others choose Kingston. Prior to this it was difficult to sell Kingston, as many had a perception of the city being crime ridden,” he told BPO Jamaica. “However, we were able to get over that obstacle in many people’s mind; and after certain blue chip plants started operating in Kingston, others began to realise that the city is ideal for business,” Duncan added.
In the past few months approximately 800,000 square feet of space have been under construction by the private sector, including Stanley Motta, with more than 250,000 square feet of new and retrofitted space in Half-Way Tree, and GraceKennedy’s retrofitting of over 60,000 square feet in downtown Kingston, a move the government views as a display of confidence in the economy.
During the official opening of itelBPO Smart Solutions in Montego Bay recently Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that by next year February, the BPO sector would have an additional 1.3 million square feet of space to support the 25,000 new jobs projected.
“The Government is committed to making this happen. We are so committed that we are building space, through the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) and also through the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ),” the prime minister said.
I am personally very pleased with the development taking place in Kingston, primarily the private-sector-led developments and new facilities that are being built.