Post-hurricane Recovery Spending Poised to Boost Jamaica’s GDP By 20 Per Cent

Expenditure channelled through the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) to support Jamaica’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa will mark the largest economic intervention in a generation, with the potential to increase gross domestic product (GDP) by more than 20 per cent. 

This was disclosed by Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, while addressing the 41st annual awards banquet of Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Thursday (June 11).  

Jamaica secured up to US$6.7 billion in international financing to drive national recovery and resilience, following Hurricane Melissa.  

The inflows will be channelled through NaRRA and are being provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group (WBG), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). 

NaRRA will serve as the central coordinating body for post‑hurricane recovery, eliminating bureaucracy, reducing fragmentation, and preventing project delays. 

It will also function as a hub of technical excellence for project preparation and delivery, ensuring that national plans meet the scale of Jamaica’s ambitions.  

Dr. Holness emphasised that every dollar invested in rebuilding is an opportunity not just to restore what was lost. 

“We are not rebuilding the old Jamaica. We are building the foundation of a new Jamaica – more competitive… more resilient, less exposed to the next shock. That means roads built, not just to carry today’s traffic, but to open new corridors for commerce, logistics, and housing. Also, water systems designed, not just for current demand, but to meet agricultural expansion and expansion in tourism and energy infrastructure that reduces our dependence on imported fuels and locks in lower cost for households and businesses for decades to come,” he stated. 

Dr. Holness said NaRRA’s mandate goes beyond restoration, stressing that its purpose is to rebuild differently – better and stronger. 

“It is reconstruction that strengthens – roads rebuilt to move goods with super reliability, water systems that support agriculture, tourism, and industry, energy infrastructure that reduces exposure to the next shock, and procurement that moves faster, but still protects the public purse,” he said. 

The Prime Minister stressed that the existing bureaucracy is incapable of delivering the scale of transformation required for Jamaica’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa. 

“The current bureaucracy has never spent US$6 billion in any capital programme… that is why we had to create, literally, a new framework to manage it. So, speed matters; so does discipline. Jamaica has no shortage of plans. What we need now is execution at a higher standard and a faster pace,” he remarked.  

Against this background, Dr. Holness underscored that the private sector’s role will be critical to the recovery process. 

“The private sector is not a spectator in this. We need contractors who can deliver quality work on time. We need engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, project managers, manufacturers, financiers, and insurers. We need companies that will compete fairly, price honestly, hire locally where possible, and meet the highest standards,” he said.  

The Prime Minister added that the sector is essential to building supply chains capable of responding effectively to future crises. 

He further noted that NaRRA is not solely about government expenditure and urged the private sector to actively utilise the platform. 

“We have stated that if you have a project… US$15 million or above… and it fits within the reconstruction and resilience [framework] and is in alignment with any of the other projects that the Government is doing, come to us, utilise the NaRRA platform for approvals and processing and potential also for financing, and let us crowd in the private investment with the public investment.  

“In other words, the $6 billion that the Government is hoping to deploy could easily be multiplied several [times] over if the private sector is fully mobilised for this effort,” Dr. Holness said.