Lead Stories

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is rebuffing suggestions that it has run out of money to furnish its new offices in Falmouth, the country's next cruise-shipping destination.

The Gleaner has learnt that the offices, which should have been opened months ago, remain closed, while the UDC representatives who were mandated to coordinate the activities of multiple state agencies are operating from the offices of the Trelawny Parish Council.

But the organisation's deputy general manager, with responsibilities for economic development and community integration, Lenworth Tracey, stated emphatically: "Absolutely not! We are not having a shortage of funds in relation to opening our new offices."

He said the building that will house his team is a temporary one which has been leased by the Port Authority of Jamaica.

Tracey is convinced that the facility will open within two weeks to accommodate persons in the community.

He said the offices are being equipped with air conditioning, electrical wiring, plumbing and basic security to meet the needs of the four persons who have been assigned to assist in the transformation of Falmouth. The company recently advertised two administrative clerical staff positions to complement the current team.

The team includes a senior project manager, who has responsibility for coordinating the planning of activities and works of the various government agencies.

Weekly consultations

In addition, there is a regional manager responsible for economic development and community integration and an architect dedicated to the town. The deputy general manager said the team engages community stakeholders in weekly consultations.

Falmouth expects to welcome the first two ships in November and, by March 2011, the world's largest cruise liner, Oasis of the Seas, will make its call there.

The Falmouth port is being built at a time when reports from the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association state that 13.2 million people cruised worldwide last year, with the highest traffic taking place in the region. Some six million passengers visited the Caribbean in 2009, and the industry is forecasting a three per cent growth this year.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com