by Monique Hepburn, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE MONTEGO Bay Freezone, the technology hub of western Jamaica, is now out of office space for information technology expansion.
Commerce and Technology Minister Phillip Paulwell, says plans are afoot to transform some existing factory space into offices, to facilitate the island's growing e-service business. He was interviewed by The Gleaner following last Friday's tour of the facility.
"We do not have any more space in Montego Bay," Minister Paulwell said. "Two years ago just about 100,000 square feet of office space existed for call centres. We are now located on 320,000 square feet."
He visited the three e-commerce companies in free zone: e-Services Limited, the largest call centre in the English speaking Caribbean; West Corp, which provides agent services for AT&T; and Vista Point, an internet printing company.
"We have now utilised most of the available skills, so we now need to expand to other locations and other population centres," said Minister Paulwell. "Places like Lucea, Port Antonio, Morant Bay are being considered." The Morant Bay information technology facility was being promoted and towns such as Mandeville are also getting interest, he said While agreeing that all the current space has been used up, Claude Fletcher, general manager of Montego Bay Freezone, said there was room for its expansion.
NEW BUILDINGS
"There is space to build new buildings," said Mr. Fletcher. "Over time we are going to build three more buildings which will have approximately 150,000 square feet."
Mr. Fletcher said there are also some factory buildings which can be converted for office use.
"We will have to retro-fit those garment factories into office space," continued Mr. Fletcher. "The expansion is running faster than the space we've got. More businesses are moving to Jamaica."
Ambassador Peter King, who accompanied the minister on the tour, said "The exponential growth of the e-commerce sector is a clear indication of the level of confidence off-shore companies have in the skills and competence of Jamaican workers."
