High commish: Britain looking to invest heavily in Ja again ... Shell hoping to make a return to country

Once Jamaica's most important investor country, Britain's investment interest in Jamaica diminished in recent decades, with Spain and China taking over that role. However, a second British wave is about to burst on to the horizon, according to High Commissioner Asif Ahmad.

He told The Gleaner that a number of multimillion-dollar projects are being explored as Britain still sees Jamaica as a viable partner.

"It is good that investments are coming into Jamaica from countries like Spain and China, among others. It shows that the message is getting through that Jamaica is good for business, and I think it may have served as a wake-up call for Britain," Ahmad stated.

The British high commissioner said that Jamaica stands to benefit from a massive £1.3 billion investment in a waste-to-energy project once it gets approval from the Government.

Ahmad disclosed that the interested company had already sourced funding for the project and will, in a matter of weeks, send the proposal to the Jamaican Government for consideration.

PROPER REFUSE PRODUCTION

"The idea here is to use both domestic and industrial waste, collect the garbage and rehabilitate the dump sites, including the Riverton City dump, to produce electricity. It's huge, and it will address a long-overdue challenge here in Jamaica of proper refuse production and a formal way of treating the waste, which has become subject to nefarious activities, including illegal burning," Ahmad said.

"I hope that the Government of Jamaica looks at the proposal seriously as it will, in fact, pay for itself and will also benefit the community as well."

The high commissioner stated that Britain has always been a major investor in Jamaica, citing what he called "legacy investment", and pointed to a series of ownership change in companies such as Cable and Wireless as a case in point.

"British investment has always been here. Look at some of the early pioneers of hotel groups. So yes, it's been overtaken by Spanish investment, but if you look at the resorts on the north side of the island that are celebrating something like 60 years of existence, much of that is British-backed," Ahmad said.

"Look at some other Jamaican companies, for example, whether it's the likes of Jamaica Producers or people who run the ports here. There is also Mussons, and you can go on and on, many of them having their bedrock in the UK (United Kingdom)."

Shell, the British oil and gas company, which dominated Jamaica's petroleum industry for close to 90 years but sold its operations on the island to the French-based petroleum giant Rubis in 2013, is looking to make a return.

"They will, of course, be involved heavily in the lubricants market, and that is another big bit of investment again coming out of the United Kingdom," British High Commissioner Asif Ahmad told The Gleaner.

He said that his office was actively trying to persuade big businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) to invest in Jamaica, noting that his efforts had been successful so far, with a number of companies now looking favourably at Jamaica as a place to do business.

"The high commission here is working with British companies looking for projects to invest in Jamaica. You would think that's just JAMPRO's work, but we are allies in all of this. And what we have noticed is that it just took some early interventions from me and my team here to start the dialogue in the minds of business people," he said.

paul.clarke@gleanerjm.com