Bauxite communities brace for hardships
Published:Thursday | March 19, 2009 | 8:48 AM
Bauxite communities in Manchester and St Elizabeth are bracing for hardships, as alumina producer Alpart prepares to shut down.
The company said the worsening global crisis and the reducing demand for aluminium has forced it to stop operations for at least a year come May 15.
As a result, the positions of 900 permanent employees are to be made redundant.
The Member of Parliament for South Manchester, Michael Peart, said the news of the closure is not surprising.
He said it’s bad news for the national economy but more so for bauxite mining districts in Manchester and St Elizabeth.
Mr Peart said to make matters worse there are few immediate alternative options to help to continue driving the local economy.
The Manchester Chamber of Commerce said it too had hoped that the closure ALPART would have been averted.
Chamber president Winston Lawson said the organisation will be seeking to activate plans to reenergise the broken bauxite communities.
He says this will include looking at reusing mined-out lands for agriculture.
Two months ago former Prime Minister Edward Seaga warned that it would be very difficult to re-open any bauxite company should it stop operating.