Crafting a comeback - Old Fort gets $53.5m makeover

WESTERN BUREAU:

Vendors at the Old Fort Craft Market on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard in Montego Bay, St James, are hailing the $53.5-million rehabilitation of the facility.

Their president, Marylin Falconer, has described the investment as a long-awaited opportunity to transform the craft sector and give traders a greater stake in Jamaica’s tourism industry.

“It is a great day for us today. We have waited a long time for it. We appreciate it. We are grateful for it,” Falconer told The Gleaner following yesterday’s contract-signing ceremony for the project at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

She said the vendors are hoping the redevelopment will produce a modern facility that can set the standard for craft markets across Jamaica.

“We want it to be a state-of-the-art craft market that every other craft market can emulate,” she said.

Falconer, however, said the project must go beyond upgrading the physical infrastructure and create greater economic opportunities for the 156 vendors who depend on the market for their livelihoods.

“I think it is high time for our vendors to be developed and to be a real stakeholder in tourism so that we can benefit from the tourists coming into Jamaica, and our families can benefit from it,” she said.

The rehabilitation, being undertaken by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), is valued at $53.5 million and is being funded through an agreement involving the Government of Jamaica and the World Bank, with support from the Ministry of Tourism.

Omar Sweeney, managing director at JSIF, said the project, which was conceived before Hurricane Melissa devastated western Jamaica last year, has become even more important in the aftermath of the disaster.

“We know that we are living in a post-Melissa era, and this project may have been conceived and conceptualised before Melissa, but certainly has been made more necessary since the passing of Melissa,” Sweeney said.

The works will include a new administrative office, rehabilitation of the gazebo and upgrades to all 156 shops. Restrooms, display areas, walkways and entrances will also be improved.

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Work on the project will be carried out by S M Quality Construction and is expected to commence on September 25 and last for approximately eight months. The project is also expected to address termite infestation, electrical rewiring, landscaping, garbage disposal and the installation of surveillance cameras. Cultural features, including the historic cannon and wishing well, will also be rehabilitated.

Sweeney said the investment was about more than the physical infrastructure.

“It is because of the work that’s being done and the value of this as an asset, not just the physical value or the economic value, but the cultural value and what it represents that has brought us here today,” he said.

Deputy Mayor of Montego Bay Dwight Crawford said the planned rehabilitation of the Old Fort Craft Market was an important investment in the city’s craft vendors, tourism product and local economy.

He said the project represents far more than an infrastructure upgrade, arguing that it will create opportunities for craft vendors to expand their businesses and improve their livelihoods.

“Most importantly, this project represents an investment in our people,” Crawford said, noting that craft vendors play an important role in Montego Bay’s tourism product and local economy.

“Our craft vendors are an important part of Montego Bay’s tourism product and our local economy. Of course, they are ambassadors of our culture, our creativity, and our Jamaican heritage. When visitors purchase our crafts, they are taking home a piece of Jamaica,” he said.

Crawford said providing the vendors with improved and more suitable spaces would help them to grow their businesses, earn sustainable incomes and support their families and communities.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com