Montego Bay lost it’s premiere cruise destination status to Falmouth in 2010, but it’s looking like that may be changing in the semi-near future. The Port Authority of Jamaica is planning on spending $100 million over the next 18 months to transform the city’s port into a world-class point of entry.
Montego Bay has faded into the background a bit as of recent years, overshadowed by the new Falmouth Pier and the Ocho Rios Cruise Ship Terminal. However, it’s considered one of the most beautiful harbors in all of the Caribbean, and several cruise lines are zooming in on the port as their link to the region. The city is getting ready to welcome its glory days back.
Revitalization Plans
The facility has a cruise berth and port to receive cargo that doubles as a tourist terminal when there’s another vessel overflow currently, but soon that will be no more. The modernization project is planned to feature an industrial park, home porting berth, twin cruise terminal, and a mini berth for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The industrial park will include 124,000 square feet of office space for the business sector, and a 165,000 square foot warehouse. As far as LNG, the mini berth for that will not have much other Caribbean competition; currently only Trinidad and the Dominican Republic have that capability.
The chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund and former president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Godfrey Dyer, is quite happy with the news, “I am very happy with the development and the job the PAJ [Port Authority of Jamaica] is doing, I am confident that Montego Bay will come together.”
