The Jamaican Government will consider the feasibility of a glass bottle factory as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), reports the Jamaica Gleaner.
Jamaica imports glass bottles used by companies such as Red Stripe Jamaica and J Wray & Nephew in order to distribute their products.
Desnoes & Geddes Limited (D&G), which trades as Red Stripe beer, is not interested in investing in glass making but would consider sourcing its bottles locally, under the right conditions.
There are 60 million D&G bottles in circulation annually. It imports its bottles mostly from Costa Rica and its local beverages are sourced from Trinidad & Tobago.
The Jamaican Government hopes to use the benefits of Jamaica’s SEZ as a selling point to entice potential investors. Those benefits include duty-free imports on select items and a 12.5% income tax rate with the option to lower that to 7.75%.
Dr Eric Deans, CEO of the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority, said: “Nothing is on or off the table. We can’t divulge any details.”
It would take $150-200 million to set up a glass factory, with a potential return on investment in under five years based on the level of bottle imports for alcoholic beverages alone.
Pictured: Red Stripe Jamaica beer
Source: The Jamaica Gleaner
