Jamaica and Korea launch US$9m land administration upgrade with Kingston training hub

Kingston — Jamaica has formally launched the Land Administration Capacity Enhancement Project, backed by the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency, in a move officials cast as a long-term push to register land faster, sharpen geospatial skills, and shift more of the country’s land records onto integrated digital systems.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the inception ceremony that the partnership includes grant financing of up to US$9 million, roughly J$1.4 billion, running from 2025 through 2031. He said the work would strengthen institutions, equipment, and training so the state can administer land with greater speed, transparency, and accuracy, and he drew a parallel with Korea’s early emphasis on clarifying tenure as part of its development story.

The centrepiece is the Land Administration Innovation Centre, slated for 84 Hanover Street in Kingston on property made available through cooperation with the Statistical Institute of Jamaica. Holness said the site would be renovated into offices, meeting space, computer labs, and storage, and would receive hardware ranging from desktops and rugged laptops to survey kit, drones, and specialist software, including advanced geographic information system training aligned with electronic registration plans.

National Land Agency chief Sharice Walcott described the scheme as a strategic lift for surveying, mapping, geographic information systems, land management, and wider public-sector capacity, anchored in a new innovation centre rather than benefiting the agency alone. She thanked Korean partners and institutions including the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatics Corporation, and recognised staff who had worked on preparations for about two years.

KOICA country officer Suk-Jing Byun noted a record of discussion signed last October and feasibility work since Jamaica’s 2023 request, framing the project around policy improvement, professional development, and the innovation centre to make land administration more efficient and sustainable. A Korean embassy representative and corporation officials reiterated support for institution building alongside technology, and referenced earlier cooperation such as cadastral mapping and registration capacity building between 2011 and 2014.

A briefing segment outlined phased delivery: 2026–2027 for foundations including institutional reform, centre refurbishment, a unified addressing roadmap, and clearer land-development rules; 2028–2029 to expand the centre into national training in technical courses, field practice, geographic information systems, data management, and trainer development; and from 2030 full operation under the National Land Agency using technical cooperation and a train-the-trainer approach.

Minister without Portfolio Robert Montague, who holds the land titling and settlements brief, welcomed the deepening Jamaica–Korea relationship, recalled diplomatic ties from 1962, and argued that shortages of trained technicians had slowed voluntary titling compared with systematic programmes. Holness urged property occupants to pursue registration, cited progress toward a systematic-registration target near twenty thousand titles, and linked clearer records to finance, planning, revenue, and reduced conflict over inheritance. After speeches, officials signed the project agreement, with the permanent secretary for economic growth and infrastructure development, the NLA chief executive, and KOICA among those at the table.

The ceremony drew ministers including Fayval Williams for finance and Kamina Johnson Smith for foreign affairs and foreign trade, cabinet and agency heads, diplomats from Japan, Korea, and the United States, and technical partners including the Inter-American Development Bank’s Jamaica office.