Jamaica was nominated in the top eight of the public spaces category of projects submitted in the prestigious Cemex Building Awards in Mexico on November 9. 

An overall 851 projects were submitted. 

Through customer, Amazing Concrete Finishes and its submission of the Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, Cemex/Carib Cement vied for the top position in the category against projects from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Montenegro, Egypt, France, Colombia, Bosnia, and Poland among others.

Amazing Concrete Finishes was responsible for the installation of decorative concrete works at Harmony Beach Park, which is operated by the state entity, the Urban Development Corporation (UDC). 

The award for the public spaces category went to Dubai for its entry of “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Pavilion-Expo 2020”.

Commenting on the nomination, managing director of Amazing Concrete Finishes, Yannick Sharpe noted that it felt good to be a part of the top eight. 

“I feel very motivated and inspired. It is the first that a project from the Caribbean and Jamaica has ever been nominated for such an award,” he said, pointing out that his company has now expanded to the other Cemex-operated countries of Guyana and Trinidad since this year. 

Sharpe informed that he will be working alongside Cemex/Carib Cement’s sales and commercial development director, Rogelio Barahona, to consider other local projects to enter next year. 

“We have some projects that we are working on that we are going to enter. We saw projects there that we know we have the concrete to make our local ones look much better,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Barahona commended the achievement and noted that it was important as a company to showcase to the rest of the world the most avant garde construction methods by customers from Jamaica. 

Echoing the sentiments of Sharpe, Barahona informed that “we are looking forward to strongly being present next year”. 

Judged by 16 renowned architects and engineers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, the UAE, Colombia and Argentina, the Cemex Building Awards recognises projects that stand out for their design and innovation, promote the preservation of the environment, and offer the best solutions for their users and communities.