latest news

Jamaica must rebuild after Hurricane Melissa. But when damaged homes, schools, roads, hotels and public buildings all compete for the same cement, steel, trucks and skilled hands, the cost can travel far beyond the construction site—and arrive in everybody’s shopping basket, rent and mortgage.

More than 40,000 housing solutions are in development across Jamaica, over 10,700 are under active construction, and the National Housing Trust is planning to begin a further 10,675 this financial year. A post-hurricane national reconstruction programme is now running on top of all of that. The construction sector is under pressure, and the costs may not stay contained.