INTRODUCTION Highway 2000 is a bold, transformative Public-Private Partnership (PPP) that impacts the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jamaican citizens on a daily basis. The first phase, the East-West Highway, was an international tender in 2001, which was won by French contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics in partnership with toll operator Vinci. The second phase, the North-South Link, originated in 2011 from an unsolicited proposal from China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). Long-term funding was provided by regional commercial banks, multilateral development banks and the China Development Bank (CDB); three funding sources with radically different motivations and methods.
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Jamaica Highway 2000 Case Study
At a total cost of USD1.3 billion, Highway 2000 remains the largest project ever implemented in Jamaica, and signalled that the country has the capacity to implement large, complex projects of its kind. As further demonstration of the country’s ability to engage in large complex undertakings, the first phase of the Highway was followed in 2003 by the privatisation of Sangster International Airport; and the opening of the North-South Link in March 2016 was followed by the sale of Kingston Container Terminal (KCT) to CMA-CGM, the world’s biggest shipping line. The purpose of this case study is not to compare both phases (Bouygues and CHEC), nor to make judgements as to which phase is “better”. The East-West Highway has been operational for 15 years whilst the North-South Link is still in its infancy; and there are other key differences that make such comparisons spurious. However, we can contrast both phases, and seek to draw lessons of experience from the radically different approaches to project origination, financing and implementation.
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