DUBAI, CMC – Jamaica Monday signed a financial advisory services agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the Washington-based World Bank, for the development and structuring of the National Broadband Project as a public-private partnership (PPP).
The signing ceremony occurred on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28).
Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke, speaking at the signing ceremony that was also attended by the minister with responsibility for water, environment, and climate change, Matthew Samuda, said that the government views it a priority to ensure that all Jamaicans have access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband service.
“This is an essential building block of the transformation to a digital society, which, in turn, promises to unleash greater productivity and faster growth. However, this vision cannot be affordably realized if all broadband providers have to reach all homes entirely on their proprietary networks.
“Working with a minister with responsibility for digital and skills, transformation, Dr. Dana Dixon, and the IFC, we will develop a national broadband PPP that attracts well-resourced and technically proficient private investors to build out a complementary broadband network that all broadband providers can leverage to provide universal, affordable access to broadband for all Jamaicans, wherever they reside and work,” he added.
According to a statement issued following the signing agreement, the Jamaica government has already indicated that it intends to bolster the island’s broadband network through GovNet. This platform will provide a secure network for all ministries, departments, and agencies.
It added that work has already started in phases, including laying some 32 kilometers of fiber optic cables along nine Kingston and St Andrew corridors.
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