These were among the specific projects that Dr Wesley Hughes, the director general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica cited as he charted a way forward for Jamaica during his presentation at Sunday's tourism conference organised by the Mona Academic Conference. The seminar was held over two days at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus, Kingston.

Hughes cited other projects which are at various stages in the development cycle - that he believed to be critical to the future of the Jamaican economy.

. The damming of the Rio Cobre River to supply reliable domestic water to the Corporate Area and the St Catherine plains.

. The development of Agro 2012 to supply export quality agricultural products, especially for the tourism industry.

. The development of a massive free-zone industrial park including an Internet city to foster high-tech industries and an innovative environment for entrepreneurs.

. An international financial and convention centre for downtown Kingston.

. The transformation and redevelopment of downtown Kingston.

. The completion of what he termed the "Kingsley Thomas Empire" such as the Harmony Cove tourism development in St Ann and the Vernamfield cargo air terminal in Clarendon.

Hughes told participants at the conference - that examined the role of tourism in forging broad economic changes in Jamaica - that the industry was in the "incipient stages of a massive takeoff".

He cited major investments in new properties, highways, ports and telecommunications facilities.
But the PIOJ director general expressed concerns about the quality of the products being supplied to the industry. For example, produce supplied by local farmers to hotels need to be of a consistently high quality and quantity, and delivery time and other efficiencies need to match world standards if local agriculture were to benefit from the expansion of tourism.

Hughes also cited other constraints to the rapid development of the Jamaican economy - among them, the lack of social capital, or the facility to trust others in business.

"The weakest link in the development of Jamaica is the absence of social capital, to trust others in business," he said "(This) is a major, major problem in Jamaica."

This weakness prevented the creation of partnerships in business, and retarded access to sources of capital from avenues like the stock market, he said.

According to Hughes, these will have to be addressed if Jamaica is to fully take advantage of the investments now taking place in roads and hotels.

Among the other supporting factors Hughes identified:

. the rule of law,
. an open economy and high investment,
. sustained macro-economic stability including low inflation,
. a low fiscal deficit and stable exchange rate,
. an efficient public sector,
. a high level of quality infrastructure,
. an agreed and settled role of the state and private sector in the economy,
. leadership with a clear and compelling vision of the future