Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ), citing new demand for
warehousing and manufacturing space, is expanding the Garmex free zone
and commercial complex in Kingston that once flourished as a base for
textiles.
That export business
, however, "has died out," says FCJ interim boss Horace Sutherland.
"The thrust of the government is to get back into manufacturing."
FCJ is now seeking contractors to build new plants at the Marcus Garvey Drive location, which would add 5,575 square metres or 60,000 square feet to its current inventory.
Sutherland said the Garmex compound was fully occupied and that there was growing demand for more space.
"Over the last two years, we have had expressions of interest," he said.
FCJ is projecting to construct three sheeted steel frame structures by 2011, and already the agency has sent out a construction tender notice.
Sutherland, who is also FCJ's property manager, acting as managing director, said construction is scheduled to commence by April next year and be wrapped up in 10 months.
A report on the performance of several government agencies tabled in Parliament by the industry and commerce minister, Karl Samuda during the Sectoral debate earlier this year, indicated that the project would have cost $220 million, but the FCJ acting head now says the job would likely cost more, pointing out that $220 million would cover construction costs alone and would not be sufficient to do required refurbishing of existing buildings constructed in the 1980s.
Funding
FCJ, which was established in 1987, is engaged in the business of leasing, managing and developing industrial properties and informatic space.
Its holdings, valued at about $6 billion on its balance sheet, covers 174,953 square metres of factory space, and in excess of 44.5 hectares of vacant lands.
FCJ has not said how the Garmex project would be funded.
At yearend, March 2009, the company was highly levered with long-term debts of $1.1 billion that near doubled the previous year's $673 million of long-term liabilities, and outpaced operating income 13 times.
Its stash of cash amounted to $165 million.
FCJ projects income of $490 million in the current period, mostly from rentals of 148,710 square metres of space, representing 85 per cent of its inventory.
SOURCE: Jamaica Gleaner