Manchester looks at the revival of alumina industry and other businesses in the parish

The Parish of Manchester is located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex which used to be a business hub and housed the major alumina plants that drove the economy. However, during recession time in 2008, the plants closed and the parish became prone to various crimes.

Recently, the Manchester Police have assured businesses and residents that crime is under control and that the parish is open for new business investments.



"Manchester has seen migratory criminals coming in from time to time to the south side from Clarendon and Kingston and posing a problem…"Manchester is open for business and the police stand ready to continue the excellent policing," said Donovan Graham (Assistant Commissioner of Police, (ACP) ) who heads Police Area Three, in which Manchester falls.

The parish suffered during the global economic recession of 2008 which led to the closure of local alumina plants which had been a key driver of the economic development in central Jamaica for years.

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Recently, Chinese investors have agreed to invest billions in upgrading the Alpart alumina plant in nearby St Elizabeth. Alpart’s original owner Rusal entered into a USD 299 million deal to sell a 100% stake of the Alumina Partners of Jamaica (‘Alpart’)  to the Chinese state industrial group, JIUQUAN IRON & STEEL (GROUP) Co. Ltd. (‘JISCO’) in July 2016. The Manchester stakeholders are very positive about the move and feel that the crime situation, which Porteous claimed is expanding into rural communities, needs to be arrested for the development of the alumina plant.