• Jamaica welcomed its first Floating Dry Dock. The facility, named Jam-Dock 1, arrived in Kingston on August 24, marking a major step in positioning Jamaica as a global logistics hub.
• The dock, which is moored in the Kingston Harbour, will be used to repair mainly commercial vessels, including container ships, bulk carriers and tankers.
• The Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA) opened its first Business Accelerator Centre at Kingston Wharves Limited, which enables businesses within the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to have greater and expedited access to government business services.
Accreditation and Certification
• Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) has accredited three local laboratories and two inspection bodies to the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and the ISO/IEC 17020:2012 international standards, respectively.
• The National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ) obtained accreditation to the ISO 22000:2018 standard to strengthen Food Safety Management Systems.
Standards
• The Bureau of Standards Jamaica published 43 standards, including 27 products and 16 services.
Authorisation and Licences
• The Hazardous Substances Regulatory Authority granted over 100 authorisations (licences, permits and registrations) to facilities using ionising radiation sources in service delivery.
• The Cannabis Licensing Authority issued approximately 160 multiple category licences.