The Government has agreed to provide Windalco with a two-year relief from the payment of the bauxite production levy, which will save the jobs of hundreds of Jamaicans.
Jamaica will forego an estimated US$10 million in levy payments from the company over the period.
Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Nigel Clarke, made the announcement during a statement to the House of Representatives on July 19.
He said that the waiver “is about jobs and foreign exchange”.
“Without a waiver, the plant would close, relatively high-paying jobs will be lost, and growth will take a hit,” he noted.
Dr. Clarke told the House that Windalco employs 600 persons directly and 1,187 others indirectly.
“During the period of the waiver, the jobs at Windalco will be maintained. Windalco has committed to producing alumina in terms of volume at a level that is 10 percent higher than what was produced in 2022. We will also seek, during this period, to revise the bauxite production levy regime to make Jamaica more competitive in this industry,” the Minister said.
Dr. Clarke told the House that the period of the waiver will allow Windalco “the latitude it will need to put in place the systems to make their business viable”.
He explained that the company has been faced with serious challenges in the past few years, including an extremely high cost for producing alumina coupled with the “very uncompetitive” cost for the product on the world market.
“As such, Windalco has experienced significant losses. These losses have persisted, and without significant adjustments to the cost structure of the operations, the only fully privately operated bauxite alumina company would have to close down,” Dr. Clarke said.
He said the Government will ensure that a payment schedule is developed for all outstanding amounts owed by Windalco for bauxite levy accruing from previous periods.
Source: JIS