Contruction of Digicel headquarters to begin by yearend
Published:Friday | September 24, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Jamaica's dominant telecommunications company, Digicel, will begin construction of its headquarters in downtown Kingston before yearend.
Jacqueline Burrell-Clarke, public relations manager at Digicel, told the Financial Gleaner that the company was in the process of completing soil improvement work on the site.
After that, she said, "we'll start the piling," which she explained included ground treatment, a process to strengthen the soil so that the ground is able to support the load of the building.
The 4.43-acre waterfront property was purchased from the Urban Development Corporation at a cost of $115 million.
Kier Construction is doing the soil treatment. She said all the relevant permits had been received from the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation.
When pressed on the exact date that construction would begin, Burrell-Clarke said: "I can't tell you that yet, (but) construction is going to start this year."
Digicel plans to complete the project by mid-2012, when it will bring its 1,000 employees from the two offices they occupy in New Kingston to the waterfront.
The company had shelved plans to put its headquarters in the prime real estate zone called 'The Golden Triangle' because it said the land was considered better suited for residential development.
However, according to Financial Gleaner sources, the Golden Triangle residents had quietly protested having the company and the high volume business traffic it would have generated, so close to their homes in the ultraquiet area.
On completion, the multi-million-dollar facility will house the company's headquarters and possibly another commercial structure. A Digicel store is expected to be included in the plans.
Yesterday, the Financial Gleaner was unable to get the value of the investment, but in a previous interview, Colm Delves, Digicel group's chief executive officer, had said it could cost "tens of millions of US dollars" to erect two buildings - one of which was likely to be at least 125,000 square feet.