The procurement contract for the Portmore Municipal building is expected to be signed soon.

This was disclosed by Mayor of Portmore, Keith Hinds, who pointed out that the contract would outline the consultant's terms of reference and for that person to present the Municipal Council with a business plan and other deliverables for the first phase of the project.

signing

He said that following the signing of the procurement contract, the council would be moving speedily towards securing the funding for the project, with guidance from the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

The mayor noted that all the councillors were in one accord on the decision, and that they were eager to have the ability to earn their own money.

"One of the things we would love to do is to float a municipal bond and to have the people of Portmore buy into it. We're looking at how to, in the next two to three years, become a self-sustaining municipality, because right now, the St Catherine Parish Council carries us a lot and we want to break that bond," he said.

The planned 300,000 sq. ft. municipal building would facilitate the expansion of businesses in Portmore, Mayor Hinds pointed out. He said the complex would accommodate the Inland Revenue Department, a courthouse, the Registrar General's Department (RGD), several banking institutions, a 1,000 seat amphitheatre, movie theatres and parking for over 700 vehicles.

investors

Mr Hinds said he was hoping that the new building would motivate other investors to follow suit and erect similar structures on empty land within the municipality. "So you are now planning a municipality that has developmental space and giving people work in the area that they live," he argued.

To achieve this, Mr Hinds said he is making a special appeal to the people of the municipality "to partner with us, especially in paying their property taxes and making the council self-sustaining."