The Opposition People's National Party (PNP) Vice President and candidate for South East St Elizabeth, Norman Scott, who is also the Mayor for Spanish Town in St Catherine, has promised to reopen the JISCO/Alpart plant in St Elizabeth if the PNP is elected to form the next Government.
The JISCO/Alpart plant, a bauxite-alumina refinery in Nain, St Elizabeth, has been closed since 2019 for modernisation and expansion.
While speaking at Austin Primary School during a tour of the constituency last week, Scott said the initial closure was expected to last only two years, but six years have passed with no clear reopening date being announced.
Scott expressed confidence that a PNP Administration will successfully reopen the plant, citing the party's previous success in reopening the facility before.
"We think the last time before it was closed, it was the People's National Party that reopened it, and we are again of the view that it is going to be the PNP that is going to reopen this plant, as it is of economic benefit to the citizens of South East St Elizabeth," he said.
Meanwhile, Opposition Spokesman on Transport and Mining, Mikael Phillips, has vowed to press Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Minister, Floyd Green, for a clear timeline on the plant's reopening.
He expressed frustration with the Government's vague promises, stating that he wants more specific information on the reopening plans.
"I will be pressing on the minister (Green) where JISCO is concerned. We want to know the timetable, if the plant will be reopened or not," Phillips stated.
"He (Green) said to me in Parliament that it will be reopened in a short while, but it was vague, so I will get more specifics because we have been hearing that for a very long time," Phillips, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Manchester, indicated.
In April last year at a post-Cabinet press briefing, Green announced that the Government was in talks with JISCO/Alpart to reopen the plant, with the company committing to submit its reopening plans by the end of 2024.
The minister said at the time that the parties also discussed land reclamation and land titling, which have been identified as priorities by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Administration.
