JAMAICA’S Prime Minister Andrew Holness has proposed a bilateral collaboration with Guyana to address construction labour shortages and accelerate the adoption of new building technologies.
Speaking at the launch of Guyana’s 2026 International Building Expo, Prime Minister Holness said the biggest obstacle to Jamaica meeting its ambitious housing targets was not finance but supply‑side constraints which includes the scarcity of contractors, skilled labour and technical expertise capable of building at scale.
He suggested that regional cooperation, including labour exchanges and shared technology deployment could help both countries expand housing delivery more rapidly and sustainably.
“I believe there are opportunities for Jamaica and Guyana to collaborate in the housing development sphere, particularly as it relates to labour and the deployment of new technologies in construction, and I look forward to advancing these conversations with your President to see how best we can collaborate as two developing nations to improve our people’s access to housing,” he said.
The Jamaican official also praised Guyana’s streamlined approvals regime, a one‑stop shop that has cut planning times from years to months as a potential model for Jamaica.
Back in 2024, Guyana had through the then Ministry of Housing and Water and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) launched their Electronic Planning and Development Single Window system.
With the implementation of the Single Window system, licences and approvals can now be processed in less than 24 hours between agencies, significantly improving administrative efficiency and inter-agency coordination.
Additionally, the government recently engaged the land registrar to address the challenges affecting the processing of certificates of titles.
Through collaboration documents which previously took in excess of three years to be processed are now being processed within three months.
“In Guyana you have taken on with great courage the efficiency of the government bureaucracy in delivering the approvals for housing, and I’ve told that you now have a one stop shop, and that you have cut the approval times for as high as three years to know three months, that is to be applauded,” the Jamaican PM underscored.
Prime Minister Holness also publicly thanked Guyana for its swift and effective assistance following the Category 5 hurricane that devastated parts of Jamaica last year.
He singled out the Guyanese Defence Force for its high standard of workmanship during reconstruction efforts.
“The workmanship was of the highest standard,” he emphasised.
More than 900,000 Jamaicans were impacted by the storm and some 150,000 homes suffered damage. The Guyanese deployment joined a broader regional response, providing practical labour and technical assistance during the immediate recovery and early reconstruction phases.
Prime Minister Holness also noted Jamaica’s intention to “rebuild better” through a new National Reconstruction and Resilience Agency, which will seek to upgrade standards rather than merely restore pre‑existing structures.
