The Government of Jamaica has given final approval to a public-private partnership (PPP) contract for the operation and expansion of the Kingston Container Terminal (KCT).

Making the announcement on December 18 the Government said the move follows careful due diligence and business case analysis. Based on the evaluation of the requests for qualification, three firms have qualified to participate in the RFP. These are:

• the Port of Singapore;
• the Terminal Ling Consortium; and
• Dubai Ports.

The Government of Jamaica announced that the next step in the process includes the issuance of confidential memorandum and the request for proposal (RFP).

The Government of Jamaica is seeking to grant a long-term concession to a global terminal operator to operate and expand the KCT through a PPP.

KCT is a regional container transshipment hub with an annual capacity of 2.8 million TEU and an annual throughput of 1.1 million. Further development of the Kingston Container Terminal is expected to facilitate the passage of Post-Panamax container vessels with a nominal capacity of 12,000 TEUs in comparison to the existing Panamax vessels with a capacity of 4,500 TEUs currently transiting the Panama Canal.