JCC to sensitise members on purpose of logistics hub

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) has embarked on a mission to school its members in the purpose of the logistics hub being contemplated for Jamaica.

That is the main aim of a two-day symposium it will host in partnership with JAMPRO, the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, and the Jamaica Business Development Corporation at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston next week Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The feedback we have got from our members is that the project the Government of Jamaica has been promoting very hard, namely the logistics hub, sounds very good, but they don't very much about it," JCC President Francis Kennedy told The Gleaner yesterday.

He said the members of the business community need a comfort level as to how to invest, what to invest, and where they can invest.

"The purpose, basically, is a learning conference to try to expose the logistics hub - what are the issues, what are the problems, where we can go, and where we can make money," he continued.

"The idea is to expose the Jamaican investor to what a logistics hub is about and where we are going to go, what is needed."

The theme of the symposium, which will target Jamaican companies and investors, is 'Transforming Jamaica's Business Landscape'.

FULL BUY-IN IMPORTANT

Dr Eric Deans, chairman of the Logistics Task Force within the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, underscored the importance of a full buy-in from members of the private sector.

"The essence of the logistics hub initiative is to allow Jamaica to become what we call the fourth leg in the global supply chain. It is important to recognise that the logistics hubs or logistics business has evolved; it's not something that is new to Jamaica," he disclosed.

"We already operate the largest trans-shipment hub in the region. We operate two major international airports. We have been engaged in the business of trans-shipment for over 40 years," Deans said.