Newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green convened a meeting with bauxite-alumina producer JISCO Alpart to discuss the company’s plans for the re-opening and resumption of plant operations in Nain, St Elizabeth.

The meeting, which took place on Thursday (June 1) at its Hope Gardens, St Andrew offices, consisted of a team from the Agriculture & Mining Ministry, a high-level delegation of the JISCO Group based in China, a local team from JISCO Alpart and potential partners for the project, Hangzhou Jinjiang Group.

The discussions were centred around the current state of the Alpart bauxite-alumina plant; the modification process which started in 2019 but had stalled; the feasibility of continued mining operations and a prospective timeframe for resumption.

Green indicated the Government’s support for a resumption.

“Alpart has traditionally been a significant employer of general and high skilled labour in that region of St Elizabeth and Manchester, and the residents have been anticipating the resumption of the plant,” asserted the minister.

The delegation in Jamaica to investigate the Alpart project for its implementation includes: Gao Xinglu, vice general manager, JISCO Group; Wen Yibo, chairman of Dongxing Aluminium, Ltd (subsidiary of JISCO Group); Pi Jianqing, chief engineer, Hangzhou Jinjiang Group; Dou Minrui, vice general manager of the JISCO Group planning and development department; Sun Jing, vice general manager, JISCO Alpart Jamaica; and Wei Qiang, vice general manager of the JISCO Group’s asset, resources and international deptartment.

During the meeting, Green commended JISCO on demonstrating resolve to conquer the challenges encountered in the past, and further encouraged the company to continue to strengthen community relations as part of their social responsibility.