Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Port of Kingston is set to benefit from another round of massive investment to complement the US$500 million (J$80 billion) already spent over the last 10 years in advancing port infrastructure. 

One of the two port operators in Jamaica, Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL), has just received a quote for the construction of a multi-level car park for US$25 million, which is just for the physical infrastructure to store cars being transshipped from Jamaica to other countries across the globe.

KTL CEO Mark Williams made the disclosure while speaking at the 21^st Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference 2026, now on at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. He emphasised that Jamaica is fast becoming a serious player in the global market for the transhipment of motor vehicles.

He told the conference that two years ago, KWL reconstructed a berth at US$30 million, adding, “We went back to contractors three months ago, and that cost is now US$45 million. Our neighbours, KFTL (Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited; the other port operator in Jamaica), have invested heavily in the development of the port. They have announced an additional US$80 million to build their port infrastructure, just to store containers.

“Again, KFTL announced that they will be spending a further US$80 million to expand their port infrastructure just to store containers. That terminal to Jamaica’s credit increased the volume by 50% and is now the fastest growing logistic hub in the region. But that’s the type of investment, and those are the realities we are dealing with,” the KWL boss advises. 

Williams told the packed ballroom that terminals like KWL and KFTL require expensive port equipment, explaining that a ship-to-shore crane used at KFTL is approximately US$15 to US$20 million. He said the KFTL has 19 such cranes, while KWL uses mobile cranes with seven of them in operation. The cost per unit is US$7 to US$10 million.

Global player in car transhipment

The CEO admitted that KWL has established itself as a regional port for containers but also plays a significant role in the global market for cars, moving in excess of 180,000 cars last year from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. “It therefore means the infrastructure that is required to manage 180,000 cars is capital-intensive,” Williams said, referring to other expensive heavy-duty equipment other than cranes that are used in port operations.

Williams points to the need for more development in the physical infrastructure at the Port of Kingston, as well as birthing space and the backlands. To this extent, KWL has approached the government to acquire portions of Tinson Pen for its expansion, highlighting that this move is consistent with the government’s proposal to have Jamaica become a significant node in global logistics.

For this to happen, Williams lamented that, “what’s required is substantial investment in physical infrastructure, in equipment and more importantly in technology. You have to facilitate the movement of those cars when you have the largest car ship in the world visiting Jamaica, and that car vessel has 9,402 cars; we need space to put them, it requires huge capital investment…It therefore means you need land space, you need to expand the port boundaries.”