Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
The shipment of 5,800 tonnes from Venezuela being offloaded at the Caribbean Cement Company Limited's pier in Rockfort, Kingston, yesterday. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES of bulk cement have finally arrived for the starved construction sector, but not enough to topple the huge backlog that has all but paralysed building projects islandwide.
Caribbean Cement Company Ltd. (CCCL) announced yesterday that 5,800 tonnes of the 14,800 tonnes it expects to receive via imports over the next three weeks arrived from Venezuela at its cement pier in Rockfort.
Lystra Sharp, public relations officer for the CCCL, told The Gleaner yesterday that her company would immediately be diverting 5,800 tonnes of local production into the much-needed bagged cement.
She confessed, however, that the shipment would in no way put a dent into the severe dearth.
"It would not appease the shortage in one lick ... (but) it will have a small impact," she said. Ms. Sharpe added that consistent supplies would ultimately do the trick of appeasing the pressing demand.
NOT OUT OF THE WOODS
Raymond Cooper, vice-president of the Incorporated Masterbuilders' Association of Jamaica, was, however, optimistic, though admitting it was no more than two days' supply.
"It is good to see that the cement is actually here, as opposed to what has happened in the past when you hear that the cement is coming and it did not," Mr. Cooper said.
He said the sector would not be out of the woods until mid-June or July when the major shipments are scheduled to arrive.
In the interim, CCCL said it would be receiving an additional 9,000 tonnes from the Dominican Republic.
At the same time, the team appointed by Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Information, Technology, Energy and Commerce (MITEC), to conduct an independent probe into the circumstances that led to some 500,000 tonnes of faulty cement being released into the industry by CCCL earlier this year, has requested yet another two-week extension.
EXTENSION REQUEST
The investigation team, which was appointed on March 27, was given six weeks to report its findings to Dr. Jean Dixon, Permanent Secretary at MITEC. However, the seven-member team, which was also mandated to make recommendations to the minister geared towards avoiding a recurrence of the production and distribution of non-conforming cement, applied for a two-week exten-sion to May 19. Dr. Dixon said this latest extension would see the final report being submitted on June 2 and it would be submitted to Cabinet.
Dr. Dixon revealed that George Blankson, team leader, served verbal notice last Friday that his team would be requesting a further extension "taking into consideration the need to allow the Caribbean Cement Company Limited sufficient time to respond to the report."
Shipments to come
A shipment of 8,000 tonnes of bagged cement is to arrive from Cuba on May 28.
Another 6,000 tonnes is to arrive from Cuba in mid-June, with the remainder of a total of 72,000 tonnes made up of both bulk and bagged cement, scheduled to arrive in batches up to August.
Mainland will be offloading 27,000 tonnes of bagged cement and 37,000 to 40,000 tonnes of bulk cement in mid-June.
- Courtesy of Hardware Merchants Association.
