PORTMORE, Jamaica — Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has called on Jamaica’s private sector, and in particular its builders and real estate firms, to take on a bigger share of the Hurricane Melissa rebuild, as a local construction company handed over $50 million worth of building supplies for damaged homes.
The donation from Kemtek Development and Construction Limited was made to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) at a ceremony at the company’s warehouse in Portmore, St. Catherine, on December 18, the Jamaica Information Service reported.
Lumber, zinc and hurricane straps
The package includes lumber, plyboard, nails, zinc sheets, screws, bolts and hurricane straps, and is intended for roof and home repairs in Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, Trelawny and St. James. It forms part of a wider $70 million relief commitment by the company, which has also set aside $15 million for emergency items such as care packages, water and mattresses and has pledged to rebuild a school in Westmoreland. Kemtek is headed by Chairman and Managing Director Sylvester Tulloch.
Also present were Jamaica Social Investment Fund Managing Director Omar Sweeney, Acting Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier Mahatma Williams and ODPEM Senior Director Michelle Edwards.
The size of the housing hole
Dr. Holness put the number of damaged residential units at around 150,000, with roughly 40,000 of them severely damaged or destroyed. Working from typical household sizes, he estimated that between 600,000 and 800,000 people could be affected.
He pointed to help already arriving from Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda and from Caribbean partners such as Guyana, whose engineers are rebuilding 200 homes in eastern Westmoreland. The Jamaica Defence Force’s Corps of Engineers is to oversee home construction and repairs carried out by the state.
What it means for the property market
With tens of thousands of homes needing new roofs at the same time, demand for zinc, lumber and hardware is running well ahead of normal levels, and that pressure feeds into what homeowners across the island pay to build or renovate. Donations of materials channelled to the neediest families take some of that demand out of the retail market. For developers and investors, the Prime Minister’s appeal is also a signal that the Government expects the industry to be a partner in the rebuild, which could shape how future housing contracts and public-private arrangements are framed.
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