The Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ) says it members are now faced with the task of renegotiating contracts with their clients and absorbing losses. Speaking Monday on Beyond the Headlines, President of the IMAJ, Michael Archer, described the worrying situation facing building contractors. “The clients only underwrite losses to the extent that the losses are a result of their own action. They cannot be blamed for the shutdown and the disruption that’s facing…the marketplace. So the contractors are going to have to absorb most of that loss,” he said.

Mr. Archer says the Association has still not tabulated total losses suffered by members during the recent recall and subsequent shortage of cement. In addition, the IMAJ President says the Association has written off the possibility of growth in the construction sector this year. “We’ve lost half of the year already. We going into the rainy season and the hurricane season, which is usually…the low period of the construction industry. And so as far as economic growth and growth in the industry this year, I think we can write that off.”
Advertisement