On July 1, 2025, China Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd. (CHEC) successfully won the bid for the expansion of the container terminal at the Port of Kingston in Jamaica, with a contract value of US$320 million. This is the first time that a Chinese company has participated in the upgrading of core ports in the Caribbean as a general contractor, marking a new stage of China-Jabyana Belt and Road cooperation.

Modernization of strategically important ports

As the third largest container hub in the Caribbean, the Port of Kingston is responsible for more than 60% of the cargo transit in the region. However, the existing facilities are no longer able to meet the berthing needs of the new Panamax container ships. China Harbor won the bid for the third terminal expansion project, which will build a new 800-meter deep-water berth and automated storage yard, increasing the annual throughput of the port to 3.2 million TEUs. The project innovatively adopts the "coral reef eco-friendly" revetment design, and reduces the impact on the marine ecology through prefabricated hollow concrete elements, demonstrating the environmental protection concept of Chinese enterprises.

China's standards meet the needs of the Caribbean

In view of the frequent occurrence of hurricanes in the local area, the project team increased the seismic level of the wharf to 9 degrees. The Beidou positioning system is used to realize the millimeter-level accurate installation of large caissons. Crucially, China Harbour has committed to subcontract 30% of the work to local companies and train 200 Jamaican technicians. This model of "construction and empowerment" has been highly praised by Jamaican Prime Minister Holness: "Chinese partners not only bring capital and technology, but also help Jamaica cultivate its own infrastructure strength. "

A new fulcrum for regional connectivity

The implementation of the project will have significant spillover effects: on the one hand, it will form a "port-hinterland" intermodal transport system by connecting with the southern coastal road of Jamaica under construction; On the other hand, its modern cold chain facilities will boost the export of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, rum and other specialty products to China. According to the World Bank, the project will improve Jamaica's logistics efficiency by 25% and save the country about $40 million a year in logistics costs.

The general manager of China Harbor Caribbean said that the Kingston Port project is an important part of the company's comprehensive development strategy of "port-park-city" in Latin America. In the future, the project will be used as a hub to explore and participate in the construction of the Jamaica Free Trade Zone and help build a golden node of the China-Latin America Maritime Silk Road. This cooperation not only deepens China-Jaibbean economic and trade relations, but also sets a benchmark for cooperation between China and Caribbean countries in new areas such as green infrastructure and digital ports.(This article is from the official website of Seetao www.seetao.com. Reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited. Please indicate Seetao.com + original link when reprinting) Seetao.com Strategy Column Editor/Sun Fengjuan