Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has unveiled its Roadmap to Jamaica 4.0 – Global Logistics Hub Implemented, which it says is more than an idea but a lifeline to true prosperity.  

The party’s Spokesman on Investment, Trade & Global Logistics Anthony Hylton articulated the road map, which represents a strategy for economic transformation, which is underpinned by four pillars. They are Trade, Industry, Investment, and Logistics, integrating science, technology and innovation. 

Making his presentation to the 2025/2026 Sectoral Debate in parliament this week, Hylton remarked, “Together, they form the architecture of what we call Jamaica 4.0—a future-ready economy that prioritises sustainability, innovation, and inclusivity.” 

Trade, which is the first plank of the roadmap, will see a future PNP government implementing a comprehensive, modern trade policy—one that reflects Jamaica’s potential and secures its place in the global economy. 

Putting the pillars together

He told the parliament that a future “PNP-led administration will restore and deepen engagement with CARICOM, rekindle South-South cooperation, and forge new partnerships in Africa, Mexico, Asia, and Latin America, while seeking to improve our trade agreement with the EU, Canada and the US. Our vision is to transform Jamaica into the region’s global supply and value chain powerhouse, which it is destined to become.”

Secondly, the PNP plans to revitalise legacy industries and foster new sectors such as digital services, creative industries, renewable energy, and clean manufacturing, ushering in a period of Industrialisation, engendering scale, productivity, and above all, jobs that pay well and are career-oriented. The third pillar of Investment will see a future PNP administration committing to repositioning Jamaica’s Promotions Agency (JAMPRO) to focus on its core function, to include spearheading a global investment campaign. 

This initiative, Hylton stated, will rebrand Jamaica not only as a premier tourist destination but as a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, and driving local and multinational business prosperity. The campaign will focus on launching a new country-of-origin brand that underscores Jamaica’s quality and preference, expanding mutual recognition agreements, streamlining bureaucratic processes, and building a reputation for innovation, productivity, creativity and reliability.

By leveraging these strategies, the PNP seeks to attract sustainable investments, stimulate job creation, and drive inclusive economic growth that benefits all Jamaicans, not just a few. 

Modernising logistics infrastructure 

The final pillar of logistics, in particular the Global Logistics Hub Initiative, first conceived and articulated by the Simpson Miller administration, will be fully realised under a PNP stewardship. 

Hylton told fellow Members of Parliament that his party will modernise the current logistics infrastructure, such as ports and airports, establish special economic zones, and create an integrated air and sea transport network that enhances connectivity across the Caribbean, the Americas and beyond to Asia and Africa. 

“As logistics has emerged, the frontier of Industry 4.0. technologies, we will leverage AI technology to reshape industries, including in the logistics and supply chain industry, where AI is optimising workflows, increasing productivity, cutting costs and building agility and resilience. Madam Speaker, these are not mere aspirations. These are imperatives,” Hylton told Gordon House.

Acknowledging that the old playbook no longer works as the global economy has changed, the opposition spokesman highlighted that the regional dynamics have shifted and the future will not wait for Jamaica to catch up, but his party plans to take the lead in pushing Jamaica forward.

In concluding, he remarked, “The past has offered us hard lessons. The present demands accountability. But the future—ah, the future—that belongs to those who prepare for it.”