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Caribbean Islands Construction
In the early 1980s, the construction industry had yet to
recover from the short- and long-term decline experienced during
the 1970s. Construction had increased during the initial expansion
of the bauxite and tourist industries, because both required a
great deal of physical infrastructure. Construction stagnated in
the 1970s, however, because of aggregate declines in investment,
downturns in tourism, and the peak in bauxite mining. By the 1980s,
the most common construction activities were new factory space,
tourist hotels, and residential housing.
Construction recovered in 1982 and 1983, but real production
declined in 1984 and 1985 by 5 percent and 14 percent,
respectively. Construction's share of GDP dropped from 6.1 percent
in 1982 to 5.4 percent in 1985. Total output in 1985 equaled US$171
million, with virtually all activity dedicated to the local market.
Only 745 housing starts and 1,867 completions were registered in
1985, down sharply from 1984 levels of 3,114 starts and 3,132
completions. Private-sector construction operations decreased by
over 50 percent in 1985 alone. A 29-percent increase in the
Ministry of Construction expenditures helped to stabilize the
sector's downfall; the JIDC's national factory building program was
important in this regard.
Many of the materials used in the construction industry were
produced locally, although imports of iron, steel, and wood
remained significant. Cement production reached 240,000 tons in the
mid-1980s. All cement was produced at the Caribbean Cement (I.C.)
plant in Kingston, of which government shares were sold to a
Norwegian company in 1987. Steel, produced by the Caribbean Steel
Company and BRC Ltd., stood at 18,300 tons by mid-decade. The
Jamaica Mortgage Bank and the National Housing Trust were the key
financial institutions in the construction sector.
Data as of November 1987
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