WESTERN BUREAU:
THE MONTEGO Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry has pledged to pump $1 million into the staging of the international trade fair, 'EXPO 2003', to be held at the cruise ship terminal at Montego Bay Freeport, St. James from October 17 to 20.
Making the disclosure during a press conference to officially launch the event, Pauline Reid, first vice-president of the Chamber, said the event was born out of a need to provide a medium through which business people can showcase their goods and services while building local and international alliances.
She is, however, of the view that the Expo may have far outgrown its current home at the cruise ship terminal, noting that it had long become necessary that a convention centre be built in the second city. Two years ago, government broke ground for the building of a convention centre on 35 acres of land in Rosehall, St. James. The construction of that facility is yet to get off the ground.
"Last year, we did not have the Expo, it was not by choice, but actually because we could not find a venue that we could host this event," she said. Ms. Reid added that "there are a lot of conventions and larger groups that would like to come to Montego Bay, but because we do not have the facility to accommodate them, we lose them to our Caribbean partners."
