Manager of the Industrial Estate Unit of the AID Bank, Ian Williams says the bank is well on its way in developing an ICT Park.
The objective of the project is to build suitable working office space to attract ICT based industries.
The project will be developed in phases both in Canefield and Portsmouth.
Williams says, “In Canefield, we intend to construct a 25,000 square foot factory or office building which will make provision for housing at least 1,000 call centre seats. A thousand seat call centre factory will make provision for the employment of roughly two thousand employees since it could be done on two shifts.”
To date, 25,000 square feet of space for a call centre has been constructed at the Canefield Industrial Estate.
Sixty thousand square feet of space will be constructed in Geneva as part of the proposed ICT Park.
“A twenty thousand square foot space will be constructed for high tech assembly which would include the assembly of computers, cell phones and all other ICT-based equipment. Another 20,000 square feet will be constructed for electronic assembly, 5,000 will be constructed for ICT-based businesses, e-commerce, banking etc, 2,400 square feet will be constructed for a day care within the ICT Park; 3,000 square feet will be constructed for a reception area and canteen,” William informs.
Another 2,000 square feet will be constructed as a training centre with provisions for teleconferencing and distance learning which would facilitate the training of employees involved in the Call Centre or Telemarketing Operations.
The Aid Bank has already spent approximately one million dollars on the development of the Picard project.
Williams sees this project as “tangible evidence of Government’s policy to diversify the economy and provide greater thrust on the ICT sector with special targets such as, to attract foreign and joint venture industries which are labour intensive and to reduce the level of unemployment, to improve the skills basis of the general population.”