By Andrew Green, Staff Reporter
Maxwell...project expected to start early 2005. - Carlington Wilmot /Freelance Photographer
A GENERATION has passed since Jamaicans have seen a project as big as that planned for the Jamalco Refinery, said its managing director Jerome Maxwell.
Alcoa Inc. has announced a US$690 million (J$42 billion) expansion project at the Jamalco Refinery in Halse Hall, Clarendon. This will boost the refinery's capacity from 1.25 million tons of alumina annually to 2.65 million tons.
Overall, Jamaica's alumina capacity will increase by more than one-third. "I don't think many people can imagine the impact, because they have not seen something like this for a generation," Mr. Maxwell told Wednesday Business in an exclusive interview.
Announced last week, the project is expected to start in early 2005 and run until the middle of 2007. It will create a massive demand for skilled workers to expand the Jamalco capacity. "The people we need to be welders or pipe fitters or millwrights have not been trained in all the aspects required to do that job, so we have had some discussions with the Heart Trust/NTA," he said.
CURRICULUM
A training and assessment programme is being developed at Jamalco's old Breadnut Valley facility. "We have developed a curriculum to do both the theoretical and practical work," he said. "It takes you over four years to train people in these skills, but there are a lot of people at an intermediate stage who you can assess and bring up to speed. "But a lot of other jobs will also be created. Jobs will be created in the transportation sector, entertainment, accommodation, banking and food services, he said. "At peak we estimate we will employ about 2,500," he said. "We will run with a core of about 1,500." What labour cannot be accessed locally, "we will have to fill the gap," he said. "Probably we will employ some workers from Trinidad or Suriname."
The plant now employs about 540 workers and when the construction is completed, will employ an additional 50-100 workers, he said. The repair and maintenance work, which is contracted out, will be impacted more. But even then, there will continue to be a massive impact on the surrounding community and the wider economy."
Added services we will require to service the facility we estimate will be an additional US$30 million annually," he said. Alcoa expects to pay an additional US$44 million in taxes annually." This is really big for Jamaica," the Kingston born managing director said.
